Leading scientists, policy-makers and natural resource managers will address: The Past, Present and Future of Sediment and Nutrient Modelling in Great Barrier Reef Catchments.

Workshop convenor Dr David Post, a hydrologist with CSIRO in Townsville, says a central aim is to assess the "current state of the art" - or the quality of current models - and find ways to improve the computer models used to assess and predict water quality in catchments.

"Based on past experience and present needs and abilities, we will examine what sort of new modelling can be developed and applied to Great Barrier Reef catchments," Dr Post says.

"We will look at whether the needs of policy-makers and communities are being met by current nutrient and sediment models."

"If not, we will need to look at the natural processes and cycles not represented accurately or with enough sophistication in models of reef catchments.

"These might include nutrient transformation - how nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorous change once they enter rivers - and the extent to which eco-systems are able to use the nutrients flushed out."

The workshop, supported by the Water for a Healthy Country Flagship, will be attended by about 60 representatives of organisations with a stake in the Great Barrier Reef.

These include the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, CSIRO, the Queensland Departments of Primary Industries and Fisheries, and Natural Resources and Water, the Queensland Environmental Protection Agency, the Australian National University, University of Canberra, and regional natural resource management boards.

Media are invited to attend the first session of the workshop, Setting the Scene - 9am to 10.40am, Wednesday 1 November, Hotel Grand Chancellor (cnr Leichhardt Street and Wickham Terrace), Brisbane.

earlier related report
Coral Reefs Can Be Saved From Climate Change
Geneva (AFP) Oct 31 - Measures to control overfishing and pollution and to protect mangroves would counter the destruction of coral reefs by climate change, the World Conservation Union (IUCN) said Tuesday. About a fifth of the colourful marine reefs have already been destroyed and half are threatened with destruction because of the impact of climate change, including increased sea temperatures, according to the IUCN.

New reports by the organisation on coral bleaching and on mangroves showed that attempts to fight other problem areas improve the health of reefs, which are home to about one quarter of known marine species, and make them more resilient to climate change.

"The two reports give a clear positive message: while we cannot stop climate change in the short term, we can help tropical marine ecosystems survive," Carl Gustaf Lundin, head of the IUCN's Global Marine Programme said.

Greater acidity of the oceans, caused by higher levels of dissolved carbon dioxide from emissions, is adding to mass coral bleaching caused by higher sea surface temperatures as well as other forms of pollution, the reports said.

Overfishing also undermines the complex balance of marine life that creates and sustains the reefs, said Gabriel Grimsditch, one of the authors. Mangroves, which are often directly next to reefs, are part of the same ecosystem, providing a protective nursery for juvenile fish, nutrients for corals and trapping damaging sediments from land, he explained.

Mangroves are threatened by rising sea-levels, more violent tropical storms caused by climate change, as well as clearance during coastal development for tourism or expanding urban areas, the IUCN said.

"We need to minimize human impacts such as pollution, overfishing or unsustainable coastal development," Grimsditch said.

"Then the coral reefs have a bigger chance of coming back after bleaching and of adapting to rising sea temperatures or more acid waters," he added. Coral reefs provide livelihoods for 100 million people and form the basis for industries such as tourism and fishing, worth 30 billion dollars a year, according to the IUCN.

One hectare of mangroves can deliver products and services worth up to 900,000 dollars in products, including timber and wood chips, and as an environment for fish spawning, it added.

Related Links
CSIRO
Water, Water Everywhere and Not A Drop To Drink...
World Conservation Union