Great Barrier Reef Issues

In 2015 the World Heritage Committee met in Bonn, Germany and agreed not to place the Reef on the “in danger” list. They praised the establishment of the 2050 Long-Term Sustainability Plan, and particularly the government’s reconsideration of their Abbot Port development plans. They did, however, have a number of conditions to this. The government must continue to send 5- yearly reports on the progress of the reef. If the progress is not deemed satisfactory, the status of the reef is up to

Coral reefs not only protect coastlines and beaches from wave damage and erosion, but also are the basis for the fishing and tourism industries. Dying reefs is a worldwide problem, and evidence shows that 10% of the entire world’s coral has died, and 60% will die by 2020 if existing conditions continue (NOAA 2000). The reason that the Australian Great Barrier Reef is so important is because not only is it the largest barrier reef in the world, but it is also one of the most evolved models of how to best manage and protect the world’s largest reef system (Ornitz 1996). It extends for 2,340 kilometers (km), covers 345,000 square km and contains 2,900 reefs, 300 coral cays and 600 continental islands (White 1999). Historically, it has been ahead of the rest of the world in terms of recognizing and addressing problems associated with reef degradation.

Overexploitation of fish, the use of fishing nets, poison fishing, dynamite fishing and coral harvesting are other threats to the Great Barrier Reef. (Source 1)

Because the GBR is such a highly visited tourist attraction for snorkeling and diving, there has been a large number of human structures that have been built in natural areas. Every five years, the Australian government publishes an Outlook Report that examines the Great Barrier Reef’s health, pressures, and likely future. “The report is required under Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Act 1975 (section 54) and aims to provide a regular and reliable means of assessing reef health and management in an accountable and transparent way.” The report shows the actions that have been taken since 2009, including the focus on improving the quality of water that runs off the land. The increased freshwater run-off is in direct relation to the coastal development that has occurred since the major bleaching events have begun. The report released in 2009, states that the greatest risks to the Reef are still climate change, land-based runoff, coastal development, and some remaining impacts of fishing and illegal fishing and poaching. The report points out climate change as being the main cause of the destruction or bleaching of the reef (Department of Environment and Energy 2017). Most observers conclude that the climate change is a direct result of human

Bleached corals have reduced growth rates and have an elevated mortality rate. Coral bleaching also affects species such as fish and invertebrates that depend on living coral for food and shelter. Changes in the population and composition of reef fish occur when the corals they utilized are killed as a result of coral bleaching. Reefs affected by coral bleaching lose the aesthetic appeal that is fundamental to reef tourism. This aspect is highly relevant to the Great Barrier Reef because it is a popular tourist destination. It is estimated that the current bleached state of the Great Barrier Reef will cause Australia a loss of $1 billion in tourist income. Finally, coral reefs can be farmed for pharmaceutical compounds used to treat heart disease and cancer among other diseases. Bleached and dead corals are far less likely to provide these

The Great Barrier Reef is under threat due to many human impacts and natural impacts. These impacts lead to other consequences that may harm our society as well. For example, if the Great Barrier Reef was to be damaged by pollution, tourism levels would decrease, which can lead to a drop in the economic stance of Australia. For these reasons, it is important to keep our ecosystems safe and protected. Some of the human impacts towards the Great Barrier Reef include:

One environmental issues posted on the facebook group on Ecologically Conscious Social is climate change’s effect impacts on Great Barrier Reef where is one of the UNESCO world heritage sites. Great Barrier Reef is located in Queensland, Australia.

In summary, in order to save the future of the Barrier Reef “we need to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions and we need to make policies to protect the Barrier Reef. We also need shift away from power sources like different coal products.” The products that most people are using to this day pollute the air and slowly and slowly and damage the different types of reefs around the world; and we need to switch to renewable energy, because it is not as harsh to the environment as other products. If we do this we can save the Future of the Barrier Reef, Fringing reef, and the Atoll reef and all of the other reefs around the world.

The Great Barrier Reef is the largest reef In the world being at 345, 000 square kilometres in size. This huge amount of reef is home to 1,500 species of fish, 30 species of whales and dolphins, and 133 species of sharks and rays (Act.greenpeace.org, 2018). Imagine you were one of these fish and your home was just dying off leaving you without food and having to move to different areas. We are the ones causing The Great Barrier Reef to die! Not only does the reef provide homes and food for all of these animals but it also provides the ocean and earth with large amounts of oxygen.

The Great Barrier Reef is one of the most beloved regions of the world but due to recent human activity in surrounding areas and subsequent sediment delivery, coral and seagrass habits within are being negatively impacted. Extending 2000km along the North-eastern Australian coast (Brodie et al., 2007), the Great Barrier Reef is a major source of income for Northern Australia and fuels the growth of local businesses. As industrialization in areas adjacent to the Great Barrier Reef lagoon have increased since European settlement (McCulloch et al., 2003), the need for more resources to compensate for human population has led to harmful land practices such as overstocking and deforestation for cattle grazing inland. These are causing a significant

The Great Barrier Reef is one ot the most popular places in the world to visit with over 2 million visitors each year. It is located along the coast of Australia and home to the world’s largest collection of corals. It also hold many species of animals as well as a few endangered species. But think, if we aren’t careful, in as soon as just fifty years, the reef could be dead, killing all life it contains along with it. Because the Great Barrier Reef is often misunderstood, it is importsnt to know the facts about the glory of the reef, its devestatingly decline, and ways we can help enhance it.

These marine protected areas range from paper parks, multiple use areas where the degrees of protection vary, marine reserves, and no-take areas. These no-take areas provide the most effective protection so far for extractive activities, such as fishing. When these no-take areas are properly supported and policed, they are effective in the preservation of fish stocks. Unfortunately, they do not prevent the flow of warm water or bleaching. A question asked was, how can no-take areas protect coral reefs if they do not prevent bleaching? The answer is that no-take areas can protect reefs from overfishing, levels of disease, and excess nutrients. For no-take areas to do the maximum amount they would have to be closer and more numerously together than they usually are. Self-seeded, isolated reefs are likely to not be protected by no-take areas. While no-take areas might not provide full protection to coral reefs, they at least provide partial protection.

Australia is home to one of the most diverse and beautiful landscapes in the world. From uninhabitable arid deserts to snow-topped mountain ranges, lush tropical rainforests and gorgeous ocean beaches; it encompasses almost every type of environment possible. It is comparable in size to the United States and is home to nearly 20 million people (“Australia’s Geography and History”). Australia also includes some of the most unique species of animals and geographic phenomena found nowhere else in the world. The Great Barrier Reef is one of these magnificent natural wonders. Unfortunately, the fragile ecosystem of the reef is under extreme stress from environmental pressures such as pollution, coastal development, oil and gas exploration, tourist activities and climate change caused by carbon dioxide emissions. Man-made climate changes are the most destructive of these and place the future of the Great Barrier Reef in great danger. If carbon dioxide emissions are not reduced, and ocean pH levels continue to turn more acidic, this fragile ecosystem will become lost to future generations.

In both 2009 and 2014 the strategies that had been used for those years seemed to be made up of good planning and processing but had poor inputs and outcomes. These results seemed to show that there had been no factual working developments to decrease the amount of extraction of top order predators in the Great Barrier Reef. The Great Barrie Reef Marine Park has put several restrictions up in order to try to prevent the amount of predators being extracted from the Great Barrier Reef these are known as zonings. By zoning sections of the reef people fishing in the reef are able to identify which area fishing is legal and illegal in thereby stopping fishing in zones of high abundance of important fish for the reef ecosystem and food chain. The idea of zoning is to achieve ecologically sustainability for the reef. Throughout the years the government has collaborated with fisheries to manage the amount of fishing takes place in certain areas as well as to make sure they have environmentally safe fishing practices. The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority have set up certain measure in order to protect the predators of The Great Barrier Reef. Some of these measures include surveillance of the activities that take place in The Great Barrier Reef as well enforcement of regulations in certain zones of the reef. Though the strategies that have been put in place to protect The Great Barrier Reef’s marine life have been somewhat effective there will be no way of completely preventing the extraction of predators in The Great Barrier Reef. This is due to though zoning regulations have been put in place there are still private fishermen fishing outside of the regulated zones, as well as the extraction of predators can’t always be controlled for sometimes catching can be accidental while fishing for different fish. A prediction

However, many fisherman are unable to catch as many fish as they used to, so they are increasingly using cyanide and dynamite in fishing, which further degrades the coral reef ecosystem.[6] This perpetuation of bad habits simply leads to the further decline of coral reefs and therefore perpetuating the problem. One solution to stopping this cycle is to educate the local community about why conservation of marine spaces that include coral reefs is important.[7] Once the local communities understand the personal stakes at risk then they will actually fight to preserve the reefs. Conserving coral reefs has many economic, social, and ecological benefits, not only for the people who live on these islands, but for people throughout the world as well.