tag:theconversation.com,2011:/ca/topics/galapagos-90204/articlesGalapagos – The Conversation2023-06-05T12:09:28Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2034912023-06-05T12:09:28Z2023-06-05T12:09:28ZIs there life in the sea that hasn’t been discovered?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/529826/original/file-20230602-17-k2m7hu.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=6%2C2%2C1502%2C1002&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The Rose-veiled fairy wrasse, a small reef fish discovered in 2022.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cirrhilabrus_finifenmaa_underwater_photograph_from_Rasdhoo_Atoll,_Maldives_-_Oo_654790.jpg">Luiz A. Rocha/Wikimedia Commons</a></span></figcaption></figure><figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=293&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=293&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=293&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=368&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=368&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=368&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/us/topics/curious-kids-us-74795">Curious Kids</a> is a series for children of all ages. If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, send it to <a href="mailto:curiouskidsus@theconversation.com">curiouskidsus@theconversation.com</a>.</em></p>
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<blockquote>
<p>Is there life in the sea that hasn’t been discovered? – Haven W., age 12, McKinney, Texas</p>
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<p>Imagine going to a place on Earth where no one has ever been. There are many locations like that in the ocean, which covers <a href="https://www.usgs.gov/special-topics/water-science-school/science/how-much-water-there-earth">more than 70% of our planet</a>. </p>
<p>In the ocean, creatures live at many different depths, just as animals and birds live at different heights in a forest. Every ocean life form has to find a way to gather nourishment, reproduce and contribute to an ecological community. </p>
<p>The ocean is <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-deep-is-the-ocean-121168">thousands of feet deep in many areas</a> and offers millions of opportunities for life to thrive. Biologists don’t know how many species live in the ocean, but they estimate that <a href="https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/ocean-species.html">fewer than 10% have been described</a>. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="InstagramEmbed" data-react-props="{"url":"https://www.instagram.com/p/CszRZcWPjHH/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link\u0026igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==","accessToken":"127105130696839|b4b75090c9688d81dfd245afe6052f20"}"></div></p>
<h2>Black and white smokers</h2>
<p>Fifty years ago, no one imagined that entire biologic communities were thriving in extreme darkness under the crushing pressures of the deep sea. Then they found them, at spots called <a href="https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/vents.html">hydrothermal vents</a> – first with underwater cameras and thermometers, next by sending humans down in <a href="https://www.whoi.edu/what-we-do/explore/underwater-vehicles/hov-alvin/">Alvin, an underwater vehicle</a>. </p>
<p>The researchers found spots where hot water jetted upward through cracks in the seafloor, like geysers on land. Some of the water was as hot as 750 degrees Fahrenheit (400 degrees Celsius) – more than twice as hot as the oven when you bake a cake. And it was full of dissolved minerals. </p>
<p>As the hot water spilled onto the seafloor, where the water around it was much colder – just 36 F (2 C) – it quickly cooled, and the minerals solidified into stacks that looked like chimneys. Some were tens or hundreds of feet high. </p>
<p>Even in these cold, dark zones, the vents were home to all kinds of living organisms, including giant tube worms, clams, crabs and other species. Sunlight doesn’t reach deep enough in the ocean to serve as an energy source for these communities as it does for ecosystems on land. Instead, these complex ecosystems run on <a href="https://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/facts/photochemo.html">chemosynthesis</a> – energy from chemical reactions between bacteria and the water. </p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Deep-sea biologist Shannon Johnson describes hydrothermal vents and some of the creatures that thrive around them.</span></figcaption>
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<p>Bacteria that lived in the vents use chemicals such as hydrogen sulfide for energy to make carbohydrates. Then larger organisms feed on the bacteria and the creatures they nourish, and in turn are eaten by still larger creatures, creating a food chain.</p>
<p>Scientists first found “white smokers” – underwater vents where the superheated water deposited light-colored minerals, made of calcium and silicon – northeast of the <a href="https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/vents.html">Galapagos Islands in 1977</a>. Then, in 1979, they found “black smokers,” made from darker, metal-rich minerals like iron sulfides, <a href="https://www.whoi.edu/feature/history-hydrothermal-vents/discovery/1979-2.html">at the southern tip of Baja Mexico</a>. </p>
<p>I was working at the Wood Hole Oceanographic Institution, which designed and built Alvin, when black smokers were discovered. The water around the vents was so hot that the plastic tip on Alvin’s external thermometer melted. We were worried for the safety of the researchers and pilot in Alvin because the thick plastic on the viewing portholes was the same composition as the thermometer tip. </p>
<p>But Alvin was well designed, and everyone survived. In fact, Alvin has been updated many times; scientists are still using it to explore deep reaches of the ocean.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="InstagramEmbed" data-react-props="{"url":"https://www.instagram.com/p/Bti1AbFnFuD/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link\u0026igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==","accessToken":"127105130696839|b4b75090c9688d81dfd245afe6052f20"}"></div></p>
<h2>Fluffy crabs and glowing worms</h2>
<p>Every year, scientists discover new marine species. Some swim in deep water or crawl and wiggle near or on the seafloor. Some, like slow-growing bacteria that inhabit the deep ocean crust, barely move at all. </p>
<p>Just in the past two years, researchers have found dozens of new species in the oceans. For example, there’s the “<a href="https://marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=image&tid=1579238&pic=159908">fluffy” sponge crab (<em>Lamarckdromia beagle</em>)</a>, which decorates its shell with sponges, probably as camouflage from predators. </p>
<p>Another striking find, the <a href="https://www.calacademy.org/press/releases/stunning-new-to-science-fairy-wrasse-is-first-ever-fish-described-by-a-maldivian">Rose-veiled fairy wrasse (<em>Cirrhilabrus finifenmaa</em>)</a>, is a stunning pink reef fish from the Maldives, an island nation in the Indian Ocean.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1637242518550061056"}"></div></p>
<p>In Australia, scientists had been speculating for years about the origin of an unusual shark egg case in their country’s <a href="https://www.csiro.au/en/about/facilities-collections/collections/anfc">National Fish Collection</a>. In May 2023, they identified a new species of shark that produced it: the <a href="https://shark-references.com/species/view/Apristurus-ovicorrugatus">ghost or demon catshark (<em>Apristurus ovicorrugatus</em>)</a>, so called because its eyes have <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/scientists-identify-new-species-of-demon-catshark-with-white-shiny-irises/">spooky-looking white irises</a>. </p>
<p>Three of the most intriguing new species are <a href="https://www.popsci.com/environment/bioluminescent-sea-worm-species-japan/">bioluminescent sea worms</a> that emit a bluish-violet light. The researchers who found the worms in shallow waters near Japan named one <em>Polycirrus Ikeguchi</em>, after a notable Japanese marine biologist named Shinichiro Ikeguchi. They called the other two <em>Polycirrus aoandon</em>, which means “blue lantern ghost,” and <em>Polycirrus onibi</em>, which means “demon fire.” Both names refer to spirits in Japanese folklore.</p>
<p>You can follow new discoveries as they are entered into the <a href="https://www.marinespecies.org/">World Register of Marine Species</a>. With 90% of ocean life still to describe, there are countless new discoveries to be made. </p>
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<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Suzanne OConnell does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>From fluffy crabs that wear sea sponge hats to worms that glow in the dark, scientists are constantly finding amazing new life forms in the ocean.Suzanne OConnell, Harold T. Stearns Professor of Earth Science, Wesleyan UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1530102021-01-15T11:15:13Z2021-01-15T11:15:13ZVampire finches: how little birds in the Galápagos evolved to drink blood<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/378725/original/file-20210114-16-vfuqom.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=898%2C223%2C1034%2C773&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Jaime Chaves</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>For most people, the word “vampire” brings to mind Dracula or perhaps slayers such as Blade or Buffy; or maybe even the vampire bats of South America. Few will think of a small and rather lovely bird – the finch.</p>
<p>But there are indeed “vampire finches” that feast on the blood of much larger birds, and they were introduced to the world in a fantastic segment of <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p08xc2v8/a-perfect-planet-series-1-1-volcano">Perfect Planet</a>, the new series narrated by <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-david-attenborough-cannot-be-replaced-152193">David Attenborough</a> for the BBC. For us, these finches needed no introduction as we have studied them closely. </p>
<p>These birds are found on the Galápagos Islands, a volcanic archipelago located about 1,000 km (600 miles) off the coast of Ecuador. The islands are a biodiversity hotspot in part because of their isolation. Organisms that somehow make it to the Galápagos must adapt to the harsh conditions or go extinct.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1133737797532225537"}"></div></p>
<p>One such group of organisms is the Darwin’s finches. Named after the naturalist Charles Darwin, who collected examples on his famous voyage aboard the HMS Beagle, this group of finches consists of several species that have <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25686609/">evolved from a common ancestor</a>. Each species has evolved a different bill size and shape which allows it to exploit different food items. For example, the cactus finch has a long thin bill that allows it to consume the nectar from of cactus flowers. Some species have bills that are better at crushing seeds, while others are better at consuming insects or plants.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/378727/original/file-20210114-21-sh2sj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Drawings of finches." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/378727/original/file-20210114-21-sh2sj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/378727/original/file-20210114-21-sh2sj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=453&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/378727/original/file-20210114-21-sh2sj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=453&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/378727/original/file-20210114-21-sh2sj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=453&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/378727/original/file-20210114-21-sh2sj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=569&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/378727/original/file-20210114-21-sh2sj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=569&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/378727/original/file-20210114-21-sh2sj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=569&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Different bills for different food.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Darwin%27s_finches_by_Gould.jpg">Darwin's finches, drawn by the ornithologist John Gould in 1845</a></span>
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<p>It makes sense that different species of finches evolved to feed on different types of food items on the Galápagos, but where did blood feeding come from? </p>
<h2>How blood sucking evolved</h2>
<p>The vampire finches are found only on Wolf and Darwin, the two northernmost islands of the archipelago and remote even by Galápagos standards. Both islands are tiny, each less than a square mile, and are separated from the larger islands by 100 miles of open ocean. Fresh water is extremely rare and some food can disappear entirely during the dry season. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/378729/original/file-20210114-22-rc3pfb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A large bird looks out to sea." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/378729/original/file-20210114-22-rc3pfb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/378729/original/file-20210114-22-rc3pfb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/378729/original/file-20210114-22-rc3pfb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/378729/original/file-20210114-22-rc3pfb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/378729/original/file-20210114-22-rc3pfb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/378729/original/file-20210114-22-rc3pfb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/378729/original/file-20210114-22-rc3pfb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Target: a Nazca booby.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Kiyoko Gotanda</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
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<p>At some point in the last <a href="https://bioone.org/journals/the-auk/volume-135/issue-3/AUK-17-215.1/Biogeographic-origins-of-Darwins-finches-Thraupidae-Coerebinae/10.1642/AUK-17-215.1.full">half million years</a> – recent in evolutionary terms – finches arrived on Wolf and Darwin and began to co-exist with large seabirds which nest on the islands, such as red-footed and Nazca boobies. Over time, it seems the finches likely evolved to eat <a href="https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/277112#page/247/mode/1up">parasites found in the feathers and on the skin of the boobies</a>. This was “mutualism” in action: the boobies benefited from parasite removal, and the finches benefited by having an alternative to their usual diet of nectar, seeds and insects which can disappear during the dry season. </p>
<p>Eventually however, the removal of parasites led to open skin lesions on the boobies, allowing the finches to <a href="http://aquaticcommons.org/9976/1/NG_38_1983_Koster_Twelve_days.pdf">consume blood</a>. The finches even learned to pierce skin at the base of young feathers to access the blood directly, no longer needing the insect parasites anymore. Thus, the finches capitalised on an alternative food resource, blood from the boobies, and earned themselves the nickname “vampire finches”.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/378732/original/file-20210114-14-1se6yry.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A small bird sits on bigger bird, eats blood" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/378732/original/file-20210114-14-1se6yry.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/378732/original/file-20210114-14-1se6yry.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=522&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/378732/original/file-20210114-14-1se6yry.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=522&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/378732/original/file-20210114-14-1se6yry.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=522&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/378732/original/file-20210114-14-1se6yry.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=656&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/378732/original/file-20210114-14-1se6yry.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=656&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/378732/original/file-20210114-14-1se6yry.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=656&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A vampire finch feeds from an open wound on a Nazca booby.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Jaime Chaves</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
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<p>It’s hard to know exactly how much of the finch’s diet is booby blood, but our unpublished data suggests it’s about a tenth. Natural selection appears to have fine-tuned the vampire finch beak for skin-piercing and blood-sucking, as the birds have evolved particularly <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/2408396?seq=1">long and pointy beaks</a> compared to non-blood-feeding populations on other islands. And once a blood-feeder pierces the skin, it still needs a way to consume and digest the blood. When we studied the microbes found in the guts of these vampire finches in search of adaptations we found a <a href="https://microbiomejournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s40168-018-0555-8">very different microbiome</a> from any other species of Darwin’s finches, presumably caused by the blood diet.</p>
<h2>What it’s like to see in person</h2>
<p>Two of us, Daniel and Jaime, went to Darwin and Wolf along with professor <a href="http://www.sas.rochester.edu/bio/people/faculty/uy_albert/index.html">Albert Uy</a> to study these fascinating finches on islands that are very rarely visited, even by researchers. Getting there was extremely challenging as there are no beaches for landing a boat. We had to approach the cliffs in a small dinghy and then wait for a brief gap in the waves before jumping onto sharp, black lava rocks. But this isolation means the vampire finches are plentiful, and the dense breeding colonies of boobies made it easy to envision how this strange blood sucking behaviour could have evolved. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/378726/original/file-20210114-20-13ttifi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A bird with exposed gullet; a small bird with bloody bill" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/378726/original/file-20210114-20-13ttifi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/378726/original/file-20210114-20-13ttifi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/378726/original/file-20210114-20-13ttifi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/378726/original/file-20210114-20-13ttifi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/378726/original/file-20210114-20-13ttifi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/378726/original/file-20210114-20-13ttifi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/378726/original/file-20210114-20-13ttifi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Left: a vampire finch crop (food store in the throat) full of blood. Right: A vampire finch with bloody bill.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Daniel Baldassarre</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The boobies are incredibly vulnerable when tending to nests and chicks, as they are reluctant to abandon them, even temporarily. We observed scores of vampire finches clamouring all over the backs, tails, and wings of boobies, opening up substantial wounds with their sharp beaks, and drinking their fill of blood. Interestingly, the finches seem to act like a true parasite, inflicting enough damage to secure a meal without excessively harming the host. </p>
<p>For the boobies, the whole experience really is very similar to a human being attacked by mosquitos. Though they can tolerate the finches, the small bloodsuckers are a nuisance that the boobies do try to get rid of. And when it all gets too much, they can be forced to fly away.</p>
<p>And who can blame them? When we captured finches to collect samples, and found gullets full of blood, and beaks stained red. It was evident that the little vampires were not merely lapping up a few drops of blood.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/153010/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kiyoko Gotanda received funding from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), Le Fonds Québécois de la Recherche sur la Nature et les Technologies (FQRNT), the British Ornithologists' Union Research Grant, and Christ's College, Clare Hall, and Newnham College at the University of Cambridge</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Daniel Baldassarre and Jaime Chaves do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Finches have evolved to feed off blood from red-footed and Nazca boobies – and we’ve seen it first-hand.Kiyoko Gotanda, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Université de Sherbrooke and, University of CambridgeDaniel Baldassarre, Assistant Professor of Zoology, State University of New York OswegoJaime Chaves, Assistant Professor, Ecology and Evolution, San Francisco State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1449272020-08-26T11:32:17Z2020-08-26T11:32:17ZGalapagos: how to protect the islands’ amazing marine life from huge Chinese fishing fleets<p>More than 300 foreign fishing ships, almost all Chinese, have been sitting in international waters surrounding the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/aug/25/can-anyone-stop-china-vast-armada-of-fishing-boats-galapagos-ecuador?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other">Galapagos Islands</a> since late <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/jul/27/chinese-fishing-vessels-galapagos-islands">July</a>. The islands, nearly 1,000 km from the coast of Ecuador, are best-known for their unique wildlife. </p>
<p>As these vessels are in international waters, their presence is technically lawful. They are reportedly fishing for <a href="http://oceansasia.org/galapagos-squid-issue/">squid</a> and have been coming to this location for <a href="https://www.wired.co.uk/article/illegal-fishing-global-fishing-watch?fbclid=IwAR3WeU685msyimC0DUfy1DacCotZ_OvqmuSZV-bLtTa8qhbfE77fV_URp_4">four years</a>. However, the ecological reality is that fish do not recognise state boundaries and therefore fishing at this scale so close to the Galapagos Marine Reserve implies a serious risk for endangered, migratory species found within the protected area such as whale sharks and hammerhead sharks. </p>
<p>The news has led to an outcry in Galapagos. Locals there still clearly remember the 2017 <a href="https://qz.com/1060639/galapagos-shark-fishing-bust-who-are-the-ghost-poachers-who-supplied-the-fu-yuan-yu-leng-999/">capture of a Chinese fishing ship</a> that was found inside the marine reserve with thousands of sharks onboard, including endangered species.</p>
<p>Back then, I was working at the Charles Darwin Research Station on the Galapagos Islands. I’ve since moved into academia, where I research the laws around marine protection. Based on my work in the area, I think strengthening the region’s existing legal frameworks could be a solution.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/354611/original/file-20200825-25-lnzfjh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Protester holds up a sign against Chinese fishing." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/354611/original/file-20200825-25-lnzfjh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/354611/original/file-20200825-25-lnzfjh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/354611/original/file-20200825-25-lnzfjh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/354611/original/file-20200825-25-lnzfjh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/354611/original/file-20200825-25-lnzfjh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/354611/original/file-20200825-25-lnzfjh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/354611/original/file-20200825-25-lnzfjh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">‘Sharks have no borders’: protests at the Chinese embassy in Quito, Ecuador, August 2020.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Jose Jacome / EPA</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This latest incident is a stark reminder of the incongruous nature of the law of the sea, which recognises that the ocean is an interrelated whole yet takes a zonal approach to regulation that results in a mismatch between law and natural ecosystems. International waters, or the “high seas”, make up 61% of the ocean but a <a href="https://brill.com/view/journals/ocyo/33/1/article-p1_1.xml">fragmented legal framework</a> allows only weak regulation of human activities. </p>
<p>Overfishing is one of the key drivers of biodiversity loss in the oceans. With no overarching legal framework in place for designating marine protected areas on the high seas, just <a href="https://www.protectedplanet.net/marine">1%</a> of international waters are protected.</p>
<p>These failings prompted the international community to begin negotiations in September 2018 to create a <a href="https://www.un.org/bbnj/">new legal instrument</a> governing the conservation and sustainable use of marine life on the high seas. This is a promising development, though its scope is limited to <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-a-global-ocean-treaty-could-protect-biodiversity-in-the-high-seas-139552">four specific issues</a>, one of which deals with creating specially protected areas.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/354610/original/file-20200825-14-1j8jzc1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Large school of hammerhead sharks seen underwater." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/354610/original/file-20200825-14-1j8jzc1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/354610/original/file-20200825-14-1j8jzc1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/354610/original/file-20200825-14-1j8jzc1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/354610/original/file-20200825-14-1j8jzc1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/354610/original/file-20200825-14-1j8jzc1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/354610/original/file-20200825-14-1j8jzc1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/354610/original/file-20200825-14-1j8jzc1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Hammerhead sharks near Galapagos.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Janos Rautonen / shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>However it is still not clear whether high seas fishing, currently managed on a regional basis by organisations of relevant countries, will be <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-019-0981-4?proof=true1">included</a> in the negotiations. Furthermore, the final round of talks has been postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. For cases such as the Galapagos, it may be more practical to simply strengthen existing regional cooperation and ocean governance.</p>
<h2>An existing framework</h2>
<p>Ecuador is a member of the United Nations <a href="https://www.unenvironment.org/explore-topics/oceans-seas/what-we-do/working-regional-seas">Regional Seas Programme</a> for the South East Pacific. This deals with protection of the seas around the member states in this region, but in the adjacent high seas it has only a narrow mandate restricted to pollution. However it is looking to <a href="http://cpps.dyndns.info/consulta/index.php/asambleas/ordinarias/86-x-asamb-ord-2012/358-comp-galapagos">expand its interests</a> in the high seas where it currently has <a href="https://www.unep-wcmc.org/resources-and-data/governance-of-abnj">no authority</a> to create protected areas.</p>
<p>The Regional Seas Program has a lot of support as a coordinating mechanism. For example, it has signed agreements with regional fisheries management organisations, which have the power to establish temporary fishing closures in the high seas. Given that fishing is a key socio-economic activity in the region, this type of cooperation between an environmental protection agency and fisheries management bodies is an important step in the right direction. However, empowering this body with a mandate to establish its own protected areas would be a better way to protect a wider spectrum of marine life. </p>
<p>Given the lack of a strong ocean governance regime in the region, four states decided to come up with their own solution to better protect their surrounding waters. Back in 2004, Ecuador along with Costa Rica, Panama and Colombia established the <a href="http://cmarpacifico.org/web-cmar/quienes-somos/que-es-el-cmar/">Eastern Tropical Pacific Marine Corridor</a> (CMAR). The overall goal of CMAR is to jointly conserve the rich marine biodiversity in this region, with Galapagos and other marine reserves eventually forming the first transboundary network of marine protected areas in Latin America. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/354615/original/file-20200825-24-1ojw37j.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Map showing the protected CMAR zones in the Pacific." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/354615/original/file-20200825-24-1ojw37j.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/354615/original/file-20200825-24-1ojw37j.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=582&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/354615/original/file-20200825-24-1ojw37j.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=582&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/354615/original/file-20200825-24-1ojw37j.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=582&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/354615/original/file-20200825-24-1ojw37j.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=732&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/354615/original/file-20200825-24-1ojw37j.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=732&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/354615/original/file-20200825-24-1ojw37j.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=732&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The ‘marine corridor’ links Galapagos and other islands in the Eastern Pacific.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://cmarpacifico.org/web-cmar/quienes-somos/que-es-el-cmar/">CMAR</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The proposed map of the marine corridor includes the high seas between the Galapagos Islands and Ecuador mainland. However without a legal framework for protected areas on the high seas, the eventual corridor will only be able to encompass areas within the jurisdiction of the participating states. There are still significant legal barriers, even when the political will is there.</p>
<p>The CMAR marine corridor is within an area of immense ecological value, recently listed as a “<a href="https://mission-blue.org/hope-spots/">hope spot</a>” which are special places deemed critical to the health of the ocean. As a political initiative, it offers the possibility of harmonising the region’s marine law. Public outrage over fishing near the Galapagos may propel states to finalise the marine corridor and perhaps drive increased cooperation in the region.</p>
<p>A coherent regional position with regard to common threats such as overfishing would carry more weight at the international level. This could make a big difference diplomatically, especially when dealing with large fishing fleets flying the flag of a global superpower.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/144927/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sarah Ryan Enright receives funding from the Marine Institute of Ireland in the context of the Navigate project for Ocean Law and Marine Governance (Grant-Aid Agreement No. PBA/IPG/17/01).</span></em></p>The latest incident highlights a mismatch between ocean law and marine ecosystems.Sarah Ryan Enright, PhD Researcher, Marine Environmental Law, University College CorkLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1429182020-07-21T19:49:38Z2020-07-21T19:49:38ZNew research reveals how Australia and other nations play politics with World Heritage sites<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/348532/original/file-20200721-18366-n6sxl1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=8%2C0%2C5369%2C3579&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Some places are considered so special they’re valuable to all humanity and must be preserved for future generations. These irreplaceable gems – such as Machu Picchu, Stonehenge, Yosemite National Park and the Great Barrier Reef – are known as World Heritage sites.</p>
<p>When these places are threatened, they can officially be placed on the “List of World Heritage in Danger”. This action brings global attention to the natural or human causes of the threats. It can encourage emergency conservation action and mobilise international assistance.</p>
<p>However, our <a href="https://rdcu.be/b5JCI">research</a> released today shows the process of In Danger listings is being manipulated for political gain. National governments and other groups try to keep sites off the list, with strategies such as lobbying, or partial efforts to protect a site. Australian government actions to keep the Great Barrier Reef off the list are a prime example.</p>
<p>These practices are a problem for many reasons – not least because they enable further damage to threatened ecosystems.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/348530/original/file-20200721-17-10xr3aj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/348530/original/file-20200721-17-10xr3aj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/348530/original/file-20200721-17-10xr3aj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/348530/original/file-20200721-17-10xr3aj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/348530/original/file-20200721-17-10xr3aj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/348530/original/file-20200721-17-10xr3aj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/348530/original/file-20200721-17-10xr3aj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Yosemite National Park is on the World Heritage list.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP/Kathryn Bermingham</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>What is the In Danger list?</h2>
<p>World Heritage sites represent outstanding socioeconomic, natural and cultural values. Nations vie to have their sites included on the World Heritage list, which can attract tourist dollars and international prestige. In return, the nations are responsible for protecting the sites.</p>
<p>World Heritage sites are protected by an international convention, overseen by the United Nations body UNESCO and its World Heritage Committee. The committee consists of representatives from 21 of the 193 nations signed up to the convention.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/we-just-spent-two-weeks-surveying-the-great-barrier-reef-what-we-saw-was-an-utter-tragedy-135197">We just spent two weeks surveying the Great Barrier Reef. What we saw was an utter tragedy</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>When a site comes under threat, the World Heritage Committee can list the site as <a href="https://whc.unesco.org/en/danger/">in danger</a> of losing its heritage status. In 2014 for example, the committee threatened to list the Great Barrier Reef as In Danger – in part due to a plan to dump dredged sediment from a port development near the reef, as well as poor water quality, climate change and other threats. This listing did not eventuate.</p>
<p>An In Danger listing can attract help to protect a site. For example, the Galápagos Islands were <a href="https://www.iucn.org/content/galapagos-islands-added-world-heritage-danger-list">placed on the list</a> in 2007. The World Heritage Fund provided the Ecuadorian government with technical and financial assistance to restore the site’s World Heritage status. The work is not yet complete, but the islands were removed from the In Danger list in 2010.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/348535/original/file-20200721-151933-11owh6b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/348535/original/file-20200721-151933-11owh6b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/348535/original/file-20200721-151933-11owh6b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/348535/original/file-20200721-151933-11owh6b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/348535/original/file-20200721-151933-11owh6b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=539&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/348535/original/file-20200721-151933-11owh6b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=539&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/348535/original/file-20200721-151933-11owh6b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=539&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Ecuador’s Galapagos Islands were removed from the In Danger list in 2010.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">EPA</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Political games</h2>
<p>Our <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-020-0568-8">study</a> shows political manipulation appears to be compromising the process that determines if a site is listed as In Danger. </p>
<p>We examined interactions between UNESCO and 102 national governments, from 1972 until 2019. We interviewed experts from the World Heritage Committee, government agencies and elsewhere, and combined this with global site threat data, UNESCO and government records, and economic and governance data.</p>
<p>We found at least 41 World Heritage sites, including the Great Barrier Reef, were at least once considered by the World Heritage Committee for the In Danger list, but weren’t put on it. This is despite these sites being reported by UNESCO as threatened, or more threatened, than those already on the In Danger list. And 27 of the 41 sites were considered for an In Danger listing more than once.</p>
<p>The number of sites on the In Danger list declined by 31.6% between 2001 and 2008, and has plateaued since. By 2019, only 16 of 238 ecosystems were certified as In Danger. In contrast, the number of ecosystems on the World Heritage list has increased steadily over the past 20 years.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-what-is-the-list-of-world-heritage-in-danger-15679">Explainer: what is the List of World Heritage in Danger?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>So why is this happening? Our analysis showed the threat of an In Danger listing drives a range of government responses.</p>
<p>This includes governments complying only partially with World Heritage Committee recommendations or making only symbolic commitments. Such “rhetorical” adoption of recommendations has been seen in relation to the Three Parallel Rivers in China’s Yunnan province, the Western Caucasus in Russia and Australia’s Great Barrier Reef (explored in more detail below).</p>
<p>In other cases, threats to a site are high but attract limited attention and effort from either the national government or UNESCO. These sites include Halong Bay in Vietnam and the remote Tubbataha Reefs in the Philippines.</p>
<p>A 2004 amendment to the way the World Heritage Committee assesses In Danger listings means sites can be “considered” for inclusion rather than just listed, retained or removed. This has allowed governments to use <a href="https://wwfeu.awsassets.panda.org/downloads/ournaturalworldatriskreport.pdf">delay tactics</a>, such as in the case of Cameroon’s Dja Faunal Reserve. It has been considered for the In Danger list five times since 2011, but never listed.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/348533/original/file-20200721-7563-zn7i7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/348533/original/file-20200721-7563-zn7i7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=390&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/348533/original/file-20200721-7563-zn7i7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=390&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/348533/original/file-20200721-7563-zn7i7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=390&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/348533/original/file-20200721-7563-zn7i7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=490&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/348533/original/file-20200721-7563-zn7i7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=490&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/348533/original/file-20200721-7563-zn7i7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=490&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Threats to Vietnam’s Halong Bay receive little attention.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Richard Vogel/AAP</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Case in point: The Great Barrier Reef</h2>
<p>In 2014 and 2015, the Australian government spent more than A$400,000 on overseas <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/government-spent-at-least-400000-lobbying-against-great-barrier-reef-danger-listing-20150914-gjlwr2.html">lobbying trips</a> to keep the Great Barrier Reef off the In Danger list. The environment minister and senior bureaucrats travelled to most of the 21 countries on the committee, plus other nations, to argue against the listing. <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/great-barrier-reef-mining-industry-told-foreign-journalists-ports-not-a-danger-20150525-gh8uwt.html">The mining industry</a> also contributed to the lobbying effort.</p>
<p>The World Heritage Committee had asked Australia to develop a long-term plan to protect the reef. The Australian and Queensland governments appeared to comply, by releasing the <a href="https://www.environment.gov.au/system/files/resources/d98b3e53-146b-4b9c-a84a-2a22454b9a83/files/reef-2050-long-term-sustainability-plan.pdf">Reef 2050 Plan</a> in 2015. </p>
<p>But in 2018, a <a href="https://www.anao.gov.au/sites/default/files/Auditor-General_Report_2018-2019_22.pdf">national audit</a> and <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Environment_and_Communications/GBRPartnershipProgram/Report">Senate inquiry</a> found a substantial portion of finance for the plan was delivered – in a non-competitive and hidden process – to the private Great Barrier Reef Foundation, which had limited capacity and expertise. This casts doubt over whether the aims of the reef plan can be achieved.</p>
<h2>Real world damage</h2>
<p>Our study makes no recommendation on which World Heritage sites should be listed as In Danger. But it uncovered political manipulation that has real-world consequences. Had the Great Barrier Reef been listed as In Danger, for example, developments potentially harmful to the reef, such as the <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b09tds6z">Adani coal mine</a>, may have struggled to get approval.</p>
<p>Last year, an <a href="http://www.gbrmpa.gov.au/our-work/outlook-report-2019">outlook report</a> gave the reef a “very poor” prognosis and last summer the reef suffered its <a href="https://www.coralcoe.org.au/media-releases/climate-change-triggers-great-barrier-reef-bleaching">third mass bleaching</a> in five years. There are grave concerns for the ecosystem’s ability to recover before yet another bleaching event.</p>
<p>Political manipulation of the World Heritage process undermines the usefulness of the In Danger list as a policy tool. Given the global investment in World Heritage over the past 50 years, it is essential to address the hidden threats to good governance and to safeguard all ecosystems.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/australia-reprieved-now-it-must-prove-it-can-care-for-the-reef-42330">Australia reprieved – now it must prove it can care for the Reef</a>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/142918/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tiffany Morrison receives funding from the Australian Research Council.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Katrina Brown receives funding from UK Research and Innovation. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Neil Adger receives funding from UK Research and Innovation, the International Development Research Centre, and the Wellcome Trust. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Maria Lemos does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>National governments are using political lobbying and empty symbolic efforts to stave off an “in danger” listing for their World Heritage sites.Tiffany Morrison, Professorial Research Fellow, ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook UniversityKatrina Brown, Professor of Social Sciences, University of ExeterMaria Lemos, Professor of Environmental Justice, Environmental Policy and Planning, Climate + Energy,, University of MichiganNeil Adger, Professor of Human Geography, University of ExeterLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.