CANBERRA, July 24 (Xinhua) -- An independent group of experts has released a seven-point plan to respond to a devastating toxic algal bloom off Australia's south coast as the Senate established an inquiry into the outbreak.
The group of experts from the Biodiversity Council, an NGO founded by 11 Australian universities, said in a report published on Thursday that the outbreak of the toxic algae Karenia mikimotoi off the coast of South Australia (SA) is "one of the worst marine disasters in living memory."
Since it was first identified in March, the toxic algal bloom has caused the deaths of thousands of marine creatures, including sharks, rays and penguins, across 500 kilometers of SA's coastline.
The Biodiversity Council report calls for the federal and state governments to commit to seven actions to respond to the "catastrophic" event, including fast tracking emergency interventions for species at risk and investing at least 10 million Australian dollars (6.6 million U.S. dollars) in research on the impact of the bloom.
It said that Australia should accelerate decarbonization efforts to become a global leader in climate action, establish mechanisms to plan for and respond to catastrophic natural disasters, reduce nutrient pollution and restore and protect marine ecosystems.
Gretta Peci, a member of the Biodiversity Council from the Institute of Marine and Antarctic Studies at the University of Tasmania, said that the algal bloom would cause "unprecedented damage" to coral reefs on Australia's east and west coasts.
"Because of the connectivity of oceans and their food webs, the impact of this harmful bloom will massively exceed the boundaries of the physical bloom itself," she said in a media release.
According to the SA Department of Environment and Water, a marine heatwave and flooding washing extra nutrients into the sea are possible contributing factors causing the bloom. The department says that nothing can be done naturally to dilute or dissipate the bloom.
The federal government on Monday announced 14 million AUD (9.2 million USD) in funding for response measures to the bloom, which was matched by the SA state government.
The authors of the Biodiversity Council report said it was a welcome start, but unlikely to be all that is needed to compensate and support impacted businesses and communities and for immediate and long-term biodiversity needs.
The report was released one day after the federal Senate voted to establish an inquiry into the algal bloom.
Under the terms of the inquiry, the Senate Environment and Communications References Committee will examine environmental, land management or water quality factors contributing to the outbreak, its ecological, economic and cultural impacts and the impact on Indigenous communities.
Sarah Hanson-Young, a Senator for SA from the Greens Party and a co-sponsor of the motion to establish the inquiry, said in a statement that it was an important step to ensure that South Australians are not left to manage the disaster alone.
"We are facing an environmental, economic and community disaster, and South Australians are crying out for answers," she said.
The committee will hand down its final report by Oct. 28. ■