Qantas to announce $10m partnership with Great Barrier Reef Foundation to save Aussie icon

The iconic Australian brand has committed a jaw-dropping sum towards some revolutionary measures to help save the Great Barrier Reef.

Qantas will commit $10 million over the next decade towards world-first environmental projects in a partnership with the Great Barrier Reef Foundation to breathe new life into the threatened tourism icon.

Delegations from the national airline and the reef foundation will meet in Townsville on Thursday to announce the new measures, which will include the development of revolutionary coral IVF programs, “thermally tolerant” corals and world-first portable coral nurseries.

The Great Barrier Reef, pictured here off the coast of the Whitsunday Islands, is under threat from warming temperatures. Picture: Sarah Lai

The commitment comes after new research from James Cook University highlighted more severe bleaching on parts of the reef as far south as Rockhampton and the Keppel islands.

The Reef Restoration Fund will support scientists, traditional owners and local tourism operators to restore coral colonies across the Great Barrier Reef and other Australian reefs.

One of the first targets of the partnership is to expand the practice of coral IVF, which involves the harvest of coral eggs and sperm to grow new coral under controlled conditions before eventually replanting the results in existing reef locations.

It will also help fund a Reef Restoration Adaptation Program to help coral reefs

withstand warming ocean temperatures by accelerating the development and delivery of thermally tolerant corals, as well as supporting the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) in developing world-first portable coral nurseries, to be housed in shipping containers which can grow and plant 100,000 corals each year.

Great Barrier Reef Foundation Managing Director Anna Marsden said the partnership would help to “fund critical actions at a critical time”.

Great Barrier Reef Foundation Managing Director Anna Marsden. Picture: Lachie Millard

“Australia is the guardian of some of the most iconic coral reefs in the world – it’s a huge

responsibility and we’re proud to see one national icon supporting another,” she said.

“Coral reefs are the beating heart of our oceans.

They’re a nursery and safe haven for a quarter of all marine life and support a billion people worldwide, but the Great Barrier Reef, and coral reefs around Australia and the world,

cannot adapt fast enough to warming ocean temperatures, making them one of the most vulnerable ecosystems on the planet.

“We must help safeguard their future from the impacts of climate change.”

However, she said progress had already been rapid and encouraging.

“We’ve made more advances in coral reef restoration science in the past five years than we have in the past five decades,” she said.

Qantas Group Chief Sustainability Officer Andrew Parker said the airline recognised the role of aviation in environmental emissions and was prepared to step up.

“We know that aviation is a high emissions industry, which is why we were one of the first airlines globally to commit to net zero emissions by 2050.” he said.

“By establishing the Reef Restoration Fund with our trusted partner of 15 years, we’re helping accelerate the development of world-leading technologies and projects to restore some of our most critical ecosystems.”

Reef scientists are currently reporting water temperatures well above average in places for this time of year. Picture: Harriet Spark

Water temperatures on the reef this year have so far been well above average, reaching 29 degrees in places and with heat stress considered the No. 1 factor in coral bleaching, the trend is a major concern for marine scientists.

Widespread bleaching was observed by JCU researchers during routine surveys, as part of a 25-year program tracking changes in reef habitats at more than 40 islands on the Great Barrier Reef.