Australia is calling on the world’s top scientific minds to help save the Great Barrier Reef, offering hundreds of thousands of dollars to fund research into protecting the world’s largest living structure. The UNESCO World Heritage-listed reef is reeling from significant coral bleaching due to warming sea temperatures linked to climate change.
The 2,300-km site is also under pressure from farming runoff, development and predatory crown-of-thorns starfish, with experts warning it could be suffering irreparable damage. Today, the Australian government announced a USD 1.6 million funding pot available to people with bright ideas on how to save the reef.
Up to 250,000 Australian dollars is available for an initial feasibility stage, where researchers can test the technical and commercial viability of their proposals for up to six months. More than one proposal is expected to be accepted at this stage, the government said.
A further 1 million Australian dollars will then be made available to the best solutions at the proof of concept stage, where applicants develop and test their prototypes for up to 12 months.
Those that are successful will retain intellectual property rights and will be able to try to commercialise their innovation. UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee last year decided not to place the Barrier Reef on its list of sites in danger despite concern over the mass coral bleaching.