- The Guardian Sat urday 31 Aug ust 2019
(^40) World
Lisa Cox
Sydney
The outlook for the Great Barrier Reef
has deteriorated from poor to very
poor, according to an exhaustive Aus-
tralian government report published
yesterday , which warns time is run-
ning out to improve the reef ’s future.
The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park
Authority ’s outlook report, published
every fi ve years, warns that the coral
reefs have declined to a very poor con-
dition and there is widespread habitat
loss and degradation aff ecting fi sh,
turtles and seabirds.
The plight of the reef will not
improve without urgent national and
global action to address the climate
crisis, which is its greatest threat.
The report says rising sea temper-
atures and extreme events linked to
climate change, such as the marine
heatwaves that caused mass coral
bleaching in the northern two-thirds
Rebecca Ratcliff e
Delhi
Millions of people in north-eastern
India could lose their citizenship today
in what could become the biggest exer-
cise in forced statelessness in decades.
Human rights experts say the drive
against suspected illegal immigrants in
the border state of Assam could create
a crisis that disproportionately aff ects
Muslims and the poorest people.
A bout 30 million people were forced
to prove they are citizens by show-
ing roots in the state dating to before
March 1971. The list of those deemed
to be citizens will be released today.
Campaigners describe a system of
callous bureaucracy that has torn fam-
ilies apart and left the most vulnerable
facing spells in detention centres.
The family of Shahibul Sikder, from
Barpeta district , has lived in Assam
since 1938, and his father and siblings
were on a draft list. His was the only
name excluded, apparently because of
a records problem. “You’re treated in
your own land as a foreigner. It’s not
just me, a lot of people are scared ,” said
Sikder, a teacher.
of the reef in 2016 and 2017 , are the
most immediate risks.
Other major threats include farm-
ing pollution , coastal development
and human use, such as illegal fi sh-
ing. The report says water quality is
improving too slowly and continues
to aff ect many inshore areas, largely
because of farming practices that ha ve
not improved rapidly enough.
“Without additional local, national
and global action on the greatest
threats, the overall outlook for the
Great Barrier Reef ’s ecosystem will
remain very poor, with continuing
consequences for its heritage values
also,” the report says. “The window
of opportunity to improve the reef ’s
long-term future is now.”
The authority’s chief executive,
Josh Thomas, said the reef was widely
recognised as one of the best managed
marine protected areas in the world
and its world heritage values remained
intact, but it was at a critical point in
its history.
“While the reef is already experi-
encing the impacts of climate change,
its future is one we can change – and
are committed to changing,” he said.
The report comes as new data show s
Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions
continue to rise, despite claims by the
rightwing government of Scott Morri-
son that “sensible, responsible action”
is being taken to address the climate
crisis. Carbon dioxide emissions from
electricity generation are decreas ing,
refl ecting the falling cost of solar and
wind energy, but this is being more
than cancelled out by the growth in
emissions from the liquefi ed natural
gas export industry, mostly in north-
ern Western Australia.
Adam Bandt, the climate change
spokesperson for the Green party, said
Australia was “on a collision course
with climate disaster”.
This month Australia was pillo-
ried after it emerged it had watered
down language on the climate crisis
at a meeting of the Pacifi c Islands
Forum in Tuvalu. Shortly afterwards
the Guardian revealed that Australia’s
deputy prime minister had to ld a busi-
ness function in New South Wales that
Pacifi c island nations aff ected by the
climate crisis would continue to sur-
vive “because many of their workers
come here to pick our fruit”.
Great Barrier
Reef in ‘very
poor’ state,
report fi nds
Millions could lose
citizenship as India
targets immigrants
▲ The Great Barrier Reef is suff e ring widespread habitat loss and degradation
‘The time to improve
the reef ’s long-term
future is now’
Great Barrier Reef
Marine Park Authority
PHOTOGRAPH: DANIELA DIRSCHERL/GETTY/WATERFRAME
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