Introduction: The Port Noarlunga Reef is Adelaide’s main attraction. The reef exists on the eastern side of Gulf St Vincent discovered in 1971 and used for about 36 years. This narrow reef is a sandstone reef as it was formed by sand dunes. The reef is 1.6km long and lying 400m offshore. The reef is separated to two where on one of the sides the species are protected and is a reserve while the other side is where the species are not endangered which includes a mix of heterotrophs and autotrophs. In this part of the reef you can fish or do activities such as boating, snorkelling, Scuba diving, swimming, and recreational fishing. Many focus on snorkelling and Scuba diving, which makes Port Noarlunga reef special and attracts 170,000 visitors per year. The ability to interact with the species and swim and snorkel or scuba dive makes the experience much more natural and fun and hence makes this place Adelaide number one attraction. There is also a underwater trail where this gives education to the youth and also enhances the experience in marine ecosystem. Positives: The human impact on the reef has caused a lot of damage and so in 1971 the City of Onkaparinga, State Government, Coast care groups and environmental organisations all had supported a decision to protect the reef. So the reef has now a reserved part which is protected and separated from the one open to tourists. The positive effect of human intervention has been creating this 300 ha of aquatic reserve to safe
The Reef was declared a World Heritage site by UNESCO in 1981, as the world’s most extensive coral reef ecosystem, meeting 4 of the 10 possible criteria.
Australia is in debt to The Great Barrier Reef as it has brought economic and environmental stability not just to Australia, but the World, from a business and ethical standpoint everyone must put an end in this growing issue.
The author of the paper, Daly, while arguing against the maintaining of marine parks, brings forwards other people’s views as evidence to some very good points to support his position. Apparently, in Australia such Marine Parks are not easily accessible to a population which is largely city based, and consequently, equally inaccessible to the tourists, whom visit the country. Also the exorbitant fees may actually be out of the budgetary means of many tourists. It has been suggested that many tourists come to Australia, specifically to visit such marine parks. The country is an Island, surrounded by an ocean, an ocean full of marine life. Also a very healthy marine tours industry that
The Great Barrier Reef is known as one of the Seven Wonders of the World. It is believed to be one of the most incredible places on this earth. This reef is the largest living organism on this planet and the only living thing on earth visible from space (2011). The warm waters of the southwest Pacific Ocean are the perfect environments to create the world's largest system of coral reefs. The Great Barrier Reef is in such pristine condition that it was listed by the World Heritage Trust as a protected site and is therefore, managed by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority to ensure that its beauty is maintained for many travelers and sightseers (Edgar 2010). Due to the complexity of this natural phenomenon, human practices have led
Tourism in Australia has evolved over the years and continues to increase to this day, however it is the effects that tourists have the ability to place on the Southern Great Barrier Reef which are potentially threatening for, not only the reef of lady Elliot Island, however, the corals surrounding it. “International visitations within Australia alone reached 3.9 million visitors within the first 7 months of 2014, which was an increase of approximately 9.5%, a number which continues to rise” (Tourism Australia, 2015). However, with this increasing number, comes possible damaging effects to the surrounding reefs of Lady Elliot Island, possibly leading to the excessive damage of corals due to activities and infrastructure requirements
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
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:
The Great Barrier Reef is iconic. It has a central place in Australian culture and psyche, and a visit to the reef is reliably rated among the top three must do experiences in international surveys. The Great Barrier Reef has continued to evoke wonder and awe in visitors, from the earliest European explorers negotiating the “monstrous labyrinth of coral” by sailing ship, to the thousands of tourists who arrive annually to experience one of the natural wonders of the world.
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.
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 GBRMPA as an organisation strives to protect the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park by ensuring all human interactions with the reef are ecologically sustainable and maintain it’s natural
Since the beginning of time man has shown a desire to alter his physical surroundings based on his perception of inequalities, injustices, survival or even due to his own innovations. Perhaps it stems from the primal instinct to survive and along with that a common theme behind this desire seems to be an effort to make the world a better place, either more aesthetically pleasing, or easier to survive in. Technological advances for human survival and comfort may come at the expense of animals, climate, air, land and sea. Human ignorance often leads to the natural wonders of our world being destroyed due to these technological advances and human arrogance. Humans have wiped out many species that they come in contact with and almost destroyed other natural environments and ecosystems. Along the northeast coast of Australia is a cluster of reefs known as the Great Barrier Reef, the most diverse underwater phenomenon in our world. This natural wonder is not being cared for and everyone needs to take responsibility for what is happening to this reef, especially in adjacent locations and help in as many ways as possible. The Australian Government is responsible for the protection of the natural resources within their country. They need to act as the main spokesperson for the Great Barrier Reef. The government needs to be more proactive because if nothing is done the Great Barrier Reef will no longer exist. Even though it is not just the Australian Government that is to blame for
The Great Barrier Reef always under constant threat due to pollution, human use, global warming, crown thorn starfish and more. The Australian Governments putting new systems in place to try and save the reef. They currently have the 2050 reef plan in action as a long-term sustainability strategy along with contributing millions of dollars to the Reef Trust.
The Great Barrier Reef is a huge, complex ecosystem located off the east coast of northern Queensland and is considered as an ecosystem at risk. It stretches approximately 2300km from Papua New Guinea’s Fly River in the north (8⁰S) to Fraser Island in the south (24⁰S) and has become the largest World Heritage site in the world. It has 1500 of the worlds 13 000 fish species in it area, 200 bird species, 5oo species of seaweed, 600 species of echinoderm, 125 species of shark and ray and around 360 species of hard coral.
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.