Legal Aspects Of Coral Reef Task Force (CRTF)

A major stakeholder in the Great Barrier Reef is UNESCO – The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. UNESCO is in charge of the World Heritage List, a selection of sites across the world which are considered of “outstanding universal value” and meet at least one out of ten selection criteria. This list includes such wonders as the Silk Roads in China, the Cathedral of Notre Dame in France, the Pyrenees in Spain, Stonehenge, and the Great Barrier Reef.

Corals build colonies that secrete calcium carbonate to form ocean reefs. When they're healthy, coral reefs provide shelter and food for animals all along the food chain, including the top: us. Across the planet, half a billion people rely, directly and indirectly, on corals for their living. That's why what happens to the 9,000-year-old Great Barrier Reef, as well as to other reefs worldwide, is critical. The floods in Queensland have hurt the Great Barrier Reef by funnelling into the ocean vast plumes of freshwater and agricultural runoff that could severely damage the coral. Besides the extreme rain that sparked the floods, rising ocean temperatures, changes to the ocean's chemistry and the global trade in natural resources — all symptoms of our fossil-fuel economy — are waging a multiform war on the marine

"Coral reefs… are fragile structures living within a narrow range of temperature, clarity, salinity and chemistry. Even a slight increase in ocean temperature, or increased CO2… can cause stresses such as bleaching… These stresses slow the rate of growth of the corrals… With some 60 percent of the world’s coral reefs now losing productivity, it’s becoming a global crisis and a scientific mystery."

Consisting of less than 1% of the world oceans, the coral reefs are ancient animals comprising of thin calcium carbonate deposits within the photic layer. Aside from its biologically diverse ecosystems, coral reefs are major source of food for millions and provides habitats and nursery areas for many marine organisms. Coral reefs also act as a physical buffer to protect the coastlines from tropical storms and erosion. In addition, many local communities rely on coral reefs to generate an income through activities such as fishing and diving. However, 75% of the coral reefs are under threat from induced impacts of humans and climate change (Burke, et al., 2011). This essay looks at the human impacts constantly being inflicted on coral reefs.

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:

First, I am going to talk about the importance of coral reefs. Coral reefs are some of the most diverse and valuable ecosystems on Earth. They are home to 4,000 species of fish, 800 species of hard coral, and hundreds of other species. Scientists believe that there are another 1 to 8 million unidentified species (NOAA). According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, new drugs are being developed from

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.

The Florida Reef provides many benefits to our world. The coral living in it are part of the phylum Cnidaria which a group of invertebrates. Though it may provide many benefits to us, we provide many dangers to it. Our debris and overfishing can damage the Florida reef along with many other coral reefs. Not only that, due to over excessive tourists and their recklessness, we are endangering the Florida Reef even more. So how can human action improve the ocean ecosystem that is the home to the many species of the Florida reef? One is by polluting less. We can also fish more carefully and help reduce runoff. We can help the Florida Reef and it can continue to benefit us.

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

On December 2000, the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Coral Reef Ecosystem Reserve was established by an executive order signed by President Clinton. This reserve required the establishment of a Reserve Advisory

Irreversible destruction is occurring to our coral reef system. The majority of this destruction is caused by the human race. It is important that the people of the world come together to determine how to keep our precious resources in tact for future generations.

Does the impact of anthropogenic processes, such as dredging, and the environmental degradation it has caused in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park outweigh the exigency for shipping channels?

Coral reef ecosystems around the globe are threatened by human interferences and climate change. This has led to many scientists conducting studies on global coral reef ecosystems to gain a better understanding of the cause and effects of coral reef damage. In both Hodgson’s (1999) and Carpenter et al.’s (2008) studies, they are aware of the continuous degradation of global coral reef ecosystems. Hodgson's study involved conducting a survey on global coral reef ecosystems to see whether human actions were affecting the health of supposed pristine Coral reefs. Carpenter et al. incorporated Hodgson’s study into a compiled study about the possible extinction of reef building corals due to climate change and anthropogenic effects. Carpenter’s

Many prominent marine biologist and conservationist such as Guy Harvey have lectured my school on many of the problems that are causing problems to coral reefs in the Caribbean. With the accompaniment of my marine biology teacher in high school, I traveled in a submarine observing the flora and fauna on the ocean floor. As we glided through the ocean our teacher informed us on the Chondrichthyes and Osteichthyes that found their home in the rocks and coral reefs. We also traveled near the port where the cruise ships dock, and noticed that the ocean floor was baron due to the weakening of the coral reefs caused by anchoring that get swept away when hurricanes churn the water. Not only anchoring can demolish the coral, but the influx of the temperature can as well. If a large amount of boats are patrolling an area the oil and gas from the engine can pollute the water or raise the temperature. Sometimes it only takes and influx of one degree Fahrenheit for the zooxanthellae, a form of algae that is responsible for photosynthesis, can die and cause coral bleaching. Even just by touching the coral repetitively you can break apart the delicate coral. I find it compelling that this issue be addressed because I am an avid fisherman. I enjoy the relaxation and thrill of deep sea fishing, and

. Just looking at this we can see that yes we are measuring the coral reefs but the results are not good. Currently we have coral reefs that are being monitored all around the world like in the great barrier reef, Southeast Asia and the