Coral reefs of the Kimberley - a global treasure
Many people know that the Kimberley is home to an amazing, ancient fossil coral reef system – the 'Devonian reef' - near Fitzroy Crossing, which includes the famous Windjana and Geikie gorges. This now 'stranded' coral reef system was formed millions of years ago when the area was under the ocean. What is only now becoming understood is that the present day Kimberley marine environment is home to some of the most diverse and unspoilt tropical coral reef systems in the world.Scientists are finding that the Kimberley marine bioregion is the most coral diverse area of WA (Masini et al 2009) and future research is likely to show that the diversity exceeds even that of the Great Barrier Reef:"..it is highly likely that further survey will demonstrate that the Kimberley contains a coral reef province of global significance." (Masini et al 2009)
Kimberley coral reef communities are the most diverse in WA, Photo (c) Richard Costin
Kimberley coastal ecosystems have been shown to be amongst the least human impacted in the world, comparable only to areas such as the arctic and Antarctic coasts. Unfortunately due to a lack of marine protection and management and the industrialisation proposals from multi-national fossil fuel companies the future for the special Kimberley marine environment is under grave threat.
Kimberley corals - Crucial in a climate change world
Preliminary analysis of satellite and other imagery indicates that the Kimberley rivals the famous Red Sea fringing reefs in terms of extent. The reefs that have been studied to date indicate that the Kimberley has high species diversity, are relatively healthy and are important ‘stepping stones’ maintaining connectivity between the Indo-west Pacific and Australian West coast ecosystems (Masini et al 2009). These characteristics make Kimberley coral reefs crucial to ecosystem health and resilience in the face of climate change.
Kimberley marine environment – as special as the Great Barrier Reef but without the protection!
The Great Barrier Reef (GBR) is an Australian icon and contributes well in excess of $5 billion per year to the Australian economy via sustainable industries such as tourism and managed fisheries. Scientists, conservationists, tourism operators and others are realizing that the Kimberley marine environment is equally special and valuable. In addition to the amazing coral reefs the region is home and nursery to the world’s largest population of humpback whales and thousands of other marine wildlife species.In the 1970’s Australia said no to oil and gas mining on the GBR, and we have never looked back. The GBR is now protected in one of the largest and best known marine parks in the world. In stark contrast, currently 0% of the Kimberley’s coastal waters are protected in any form of marine reserve. Threats such as proposals to develop the Browse Basin gas field off the Kimberley coast have the potential to damage the special environment that supports ecosystem health, tourism, pearling and other industry.
Corals under threat
The greenhouse gas emitting fossil fuel industry proposed for the Kimberley marine environment (with onshore processing of gas) would have a wide range of impacts on this special area. Impacts include:
Pollution from routine spills, regular discharges of oily and contaminated water and gas flaring
The risk of major accidents e.g. Queensland oil spill, Varanus island major gas explosion (WA), Cyclone Katrina damage and dislodgement of oil platforms, and the environmental and human disasters they can cause.
Sonic (sound) pollution from blasting, drilling, construction and shipping
Increased risk of introduced marine pests from international shipping
Dredging, drilling and pipeline construction stirring up sediment and smothering corals, sea grasses and filter feeding organisms
Increased risk of boat strike (large tankers and other shipping striking whales, turtles etc.)
Other threats to the Kimberley marine environment include:
Climate change - which will impact on the Kimberley marine environment, ecosystem health is the best way to allow for adaptation
Unregulated tourism – poor practices such as anchoring on reefs and discarding waste can impact, good management is the solution
Over-fishing – extensive trawl fisheries and illegal fishing can all have a negative impact, proper management including marine parks is the answer
Mining – the threat of large scale ore mining projects could mean increased sedimentation from erosion and increased pollution from mines and processing
Broad scale irrigated agriculture – Dams and excessive water use could impact on rivers and coastal ecosystems as can the increased nutrient load from fertilizers and erosion
Marine Parks – certainty in a changing world
Montgomery reef from the air - one of the most spectacular coral reefs in the world, Photo (c) Murranji Photography
Scientists the world over agree that marine parks are the single most effective way of improving ecosystem health, climate change resilience and protecting biodiversity in the marine environment. Of course there is no one ‘silver bullet’ for marine protection and improved management and protection outside of parks is important too. With the special Kimberley marine environment currently only home to a few small protected areas far offshore, this situation must be improved.
Many people know that the Kimberley is home to an amazing, ancient fossil coral reef system – the 'Devonian reef' - near Fitzroy Crossing, which includes the famous Windjana and Geikie gorges. This now 'stranded' coral reef system was formed millions of years ago when the area was under the ocean. What is only now becoming understood is that the present day Kimberley marine environment is home to some of the most diverse and unspoilt tropical coral reef systems in the world.Scientists are finding that the Kimberley marine bioregion is the most coral diverse area of WA (Masini et al 2009) and future research is likely to show that the diversity exceeds even that of the Great Barrier Reef:"..it is highly likely that further survey will demonstrate that the Kimberley contains a coral reef province of global significance." (Masini et al 2009)
Kimberley coral reef communities are the most diverse in WA, Photo (c) Richard Costin
Kimberley coastal ecosystems have been shown to be amongst the least human impacted in the world, comparable only to areas such as the arctic and Antarctic coasts. Unfortunately due to a lack of marine protection and management and the industrialisation proposals from multi-national fossil fuel companies the future for the special Kimberley marine environment is under grave threat.
Kimberley corals - Crucial in a climate change world
Preliminary analysis of satellite and other imagery indicates that the Kimberley rivals the famous Red Sea fringing reefs in terms of extent. The reefs that have been studied to date indicate that the Kimberley has high species diversity, are relatively healthy and are important ‘stepping stones’ maintaining connectivity between the Indo-west Pacific and Australian West coast ecosystems (Masini et al 2009). These characteristics make Kimberley coral reefs crucial to ecosystem health and resilience in the face of climate change.
Kimberley marine environment – as special as the Great Barrier Reef but without the protection!
The Great Barrier Reef (GBR) is an Australian icon and contributes well in excess of $5 billion per year to the Australian economy via sustainable industries such as tourism and managed fisheries. Scientists, conservationists, tourism operators and others are realizing that the Kimberley marine environment is equally special and valuable. In addition to the amazing coral reefs the region is home and nursery to the world’s largest population of humpback whales and thousands of other marine wildlife species.In the 1970’s Australia said no to oil and gas mining on the GBR, and we have never looked back. The GBR is now protected in one of the largest and best known marine parks in the world. In stark contrast, currently 0% of the Kimberley’s coastal waters are protected in any form of marine reserve. Threats such as proposals to develop the Browse Basin gas field off the Kimberley coast have the potential to damage the special environment that supports ecosystem health, tourism, pearling and other industry.
Corals under threat
The greenhouse gas emitting fossil fuel industry proposed for the Kimberley marine environment (with onshore processing of gas) would have a wide range of impacts on this special area. Impacts include:
Pollution from routine spills, regular discharges of oily and contaminated water and gas flaring
The risk of major accidents e.g. Queensland oil spill, Varanus island major gas explosion (WA), Cyclone Katrina damage and dislodgement of oil platforms, and the environmental and human disasters they can cause.
Sonic (sound) pollution from blasting, drilling, construction and shipping
Increased risk of introduced marine pests from international shipping
Dredging, drilling and pipeline construction stirring up sediment and smothering corals, sea grasses and filter feeding organisms
Increased risk of boat strike (large tankers and other shipping striking whales, turtles etc.)
Other threats to the Kimberley marine environment include:
Climate change - which will impact on the Kimberley marine environment, ecosystem health is the best way to allow for adaptation
Unregulated tourism – poor practices such as anchoring on reefs and discarding waste can impact, good management is the solution
Over-fishing – extensive trawl fisheries and illegal fishing can all have a negative impact, proper management including marine parks is the answer
Mining – the threat of large scale ore mining projects could mean increased sedimentation from erosion and increased pollution from mines and processing
Broad scale irrigated agriculture – Dams and excessive water use could impact on rivers and coastal ecosystems as can the increased nutrient load from fertilizers and erosion
Marine Parks – certainty in a changing world
Montgomery reef from the air - one of the most spectacular coral reefs in the world, Photo (c) Murranji Photography
Scientists the world over agree that marine parks are the single most effective way of improving ecosystem health, climate change resilience and protecting biodiversity in the marine environment. Of course there is no one ‘silver bullet’ for marine protection and improved management and protection outside of parks is important too. With the special Kimberley marine environment currently only home to a few small protected areas far offshore, this situation must be improved.