John Schubert is best known as a banking executive, but he sees himself “as a world citizen before a banker or anything else.” As Chairman of the Commonwealth Bank, a director of Qantas, and a member of the Business Council of Australia, Schubert is one of Australia’s best-connected businessmen. It is a network that is serving him well in his passionate pursuit of action to protect Australia’s world-famous Great Barrier Reef.

There, he is galvanising a coalition of farmers, environmentalists and other like-minded world citizens to work together for the benefit of the World Heritage-listed icon.

Schubert says it’s his role as chair of the Great Barrier Reef Foundation that demonstrates the type of nation he wants to leave for future generations.

Having been involved with the Great Barrier Reef Foundation for almost a decade, Schubert says the biggest danger to its future is increasingly obvious. “When I first got involved there were numerous major threats to the reef, including water quality, overfishing, shipping, and unco-ordinated coastal development. But over the last four or five years it’s been recognised the major threat is climate change.
The urgency of doing something has become even greater,” he says.

Schubert believes part of the challenge in saving the reef stems from the fact that most of the damage is out of sight, out of mind. “If there’s a river that is drying up, or ice that is no longer freezing, you can see the impact. But if a reef is becoming less complex and less unique, you can’t see that,” he says.

At over 2300 kilometres long, the reef contains around 1500 species of fish, 350 coral species, around 800 different types of echinoderms (like sea urchins and starfish) and myriad marine mammals, seabirds, and 5000 species of molluscs. Maintaining the status quo is a precarious business, with changes in water temperature, acidity levels, and species types all chipping away at the reef’s overall resilience.

Coral bleaching is the most publicised of the reef’s concerns: as oceans get hotter the all-important relationship between the coral and the algae living on it (Zooxanthellae) deteriorates. The result is a stress response which starves the coral of food and kills off the bright colours visitors come to see.

Although 16 percent of the world’s corals have been bleached to date, the Great Barrier Reef has been relatively fortunate so far. Despite three serious bleaching events in recent years it’s still holding up, although experts agree this is down to three factors: its enormous size; good management by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA); and a healthy dose of luck.

Rather than tempting fate on bleaching, the GBRMPA recently harnessed community members to step in. In the summer of 2010, their Bleachwatch program saw over 200 volunteers keeping an eye on corals, so bleaching problems would be detected early. While tourism operators, fishermen and divers have volunteered with Bleachwatch to keep an eye on corals, the Great Barrier Reef Foundation has found a way for its members’ business experience (and funding) to make a difference. The foundation recently commissioned research which shows the reef is worth a staggering A$51.4 billion to Australia. It’s a figure which serves various uses. “Businesses want to invest in something that will make a difference, so we wanted to help them understand what a difference investing in the reef could make,” says Schubert.

At this point investing in the reef often means supporting vital scientific work.
Even before climate change loomed there was plenty to investigate, from issues of functioning, health and resilience through to issues of protection and management. Although scientists from across the globe are drawn here for research purposes, it’s local bodies that are really busy on the reef. Groups like the Australian Institute of Marine Science, University of Queensland, James Cook University and the Australian Museum are just some of those making most use of the reef’s scientific research zones and research stations, as they investigate every aspect of the reef from biodiversity of the sea floors through to the movements of dugongs.

With Schubert at the helm, the Foundation aims to channel its funding (millions of dollars to date) towards what they believe are the most pressing threats. “Reefs need time to adapt to changes like warmer waters. If change was happening slowly corals up north would gradually migrate south when the temperatures became too hot, but at the rate of climate change there’s no time for this adaptation. One project we’re funding is looking if it’s possible to speed up migration of coral to the south to help the reef adapt,” says Schubert.

While results from projects like this aren’t expected overnight, researchers and the community are both clear that successfully keeping the reef healthy goes beyond what’s happening underwater. It’s an ongoing process which has won buy-in from sections of the community not always associated with the ongoing health of the reef.

In the sugarcane-growing region of Mackay in Northern Queensland, farmer Lawrence Bugeja is well aware of the reputation of his industry. “My kids would come back from school telling me teachers and classmates believe farmers are vandals, and are wrecking the reef. I was alarmed,” he says.

The connection is water quality. Run-off from properties like Bugeja’s 100-hectare farm flows into the nearby Pioneer River and becomes drinking water for Mackay, and ultimately ends up on the reef. To improve the quality of his run-off, Bugeja has created an artificial wetland at the point water leaves his farm, providing a natural water filter. He has planted 1000 native trees on either side of the wetland to head off erosion, and plants soy on his fallow land to help improve soil quality: “I am getting carbons up and putting nutrients back into the soil, plus, the way we’ve prepared our land the water runs where we want it so we reduce erosion,” he says.

Bugeja has also embarked on an education campaign to teach local children about the environmental impacts of his farm. “Initially, I invited representatives of the reef guardian schools and their teachers out here for a field day. We wanted to get the message across that we are not vandals, and that farmers can work hand-in-hand with the environment. I explained that we get soil tests done so we know what nutrients to put on the soil, rather than just throwing on kilos of fertiliser. We also practice green cane harvesting, which means we keep the leaves and tops of the cane on the soil as a ‘trash blanket’. It’s a practice that protects the soil from erosion and reduces weeds.”

Bugeja says that while the environmental practices he has in place positively impact his yields, for him the value of his farm’s commitment can’t simply be measured in dollars: “How do you measure the value of education, or of 40 senior citizens sitting under the trees near our wetlands simply enjoying the place?”

Back out on the reef, Lyle Squire Junior from Cairns Marine would no doubt agree. His business supplies marine life to public aquariums across the world. “Over 50 million people a year see our animals in public aquariums, those animals are ambassadors for their species, our region, and for conservation,” he says. Squire says sustainability of the reef is vital in his industry, and that most of the operators get it. “It’s dive-based, so people are actually on the bottom of the reef and can see any impact they make. A lot of the operators are husband and wife teams or small businesses, which helps foster a sense of stewardship; you are a custodian of that environment and are building something to leave your children.”

Squire was born into diving, and says the reef is far more than the place he makes his living. “It’s integral to my personal identity, so it is not one of those things you take lightly. It’s everything I know.” It’s this type of personal connection that has inspired Squire and his industry group (the licensed aquarium fish and coral collectors association, Pro-Vision Reef) to develop a stewardship action plan outlining their commitment to sustainable practices.

Of course, being a third-generation businessman, Squire has his eyes on the more than just his own reputation. “My kids are the measure I go by. If I can look them in the eye and know I’m leaving things as good or better than they were, I know I’m doing a good job.”