Summary: The Great Barrier Reef

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

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 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.

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 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

The Great Barrier Reef is an oceanic/costal ecosystem off the coastline of Port Douglas, Australia. There are man costal systems that are significant to the role of the Reef including coral reefs, wetlands, and rainforests etc. The reef consists of many diverse corals and is a home for over 1,500 different species of fish. The reef is unique for many distinctive reasons; a reason that is unique is that it is acknowledged as one of the most imperative biological possessions. The Reef is a complex ecosystem with numerous organisms trusting on each other for nourishment and endurance. Broadly all collections of maritime plants and animals are extravagantly signified in the Reef. The animals range from dugongs

The Great Barrier Reef is slowly dying sometimes because of humans. The species of animals and plants and in danger. Some of the factors that are causing it to die can’t be stopped like natural disasters. But the pollution can be prevented. The Great Barrier Reef is the biggest reef in the world and we need to protect it from dying

The reef’s fish are slowly but surely declining due to overfishing, and the Australian Parliament passed a law that prohibits fishing in ⅓ of the reef, but it is still an issue (Kummer 76). The fish and other animals are being threatened by coastal runoff of wastes toxic to them, coral bleaching, and the invasions of crown-of-thorns starfish. The coral bleaching is caused by wastes in the water and the sun. This is slowly making the coral decline, and the GBRMPA is trying everything they can to prevent this (75). As for the crown-of-thorns starfish, outbreaks of them occur about every 17 years, and half of the coral decline is because of them (“About”). During the 1960s, plans were made for mining and drilling on the reef. These plans were never followed through with, but it is unclear whether it will happen in the future or not. This could damage the reef, and the GBRMPA is still trying to shut the plan down today (Kummer 55). Lastly, the Great Barrier Reef lies in a tropical zone threatened by typhoons frequently. These typhoons really damage the coral and the animals that live on the reef. The future of the Great Barrier Reef is unclear, but the GBRMPA is still managing it with great care today (Hoffman

The marine protected area that I have chosen to report on is the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park in Australia which seeks to provide protection to the Great Barrier Reef ecosystem from activities that could potentially harm the organisms that live there. It was established in 1975 by the Government of Australia, who instituted the Great Barrier Reef Act of 1975 which created the Great Barrier Reef Marine Authority to specify which activities would be allowed on the reef and which ones would be forbidden (Australian Government Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority). It is located of the coast of Queensland, Australia and contains a variety of marine life within the barrier reef. It was established to protect the biodiversity and ecosystems

Australia has a rich hold in the world’s environment due to its diverse ecosystems and one of its biggest holds is through the Great Barrier Reef. The coral reefs here have a significant role by protecting shores from waves and storms, provide food and medicine, and help the economy though tourism. The reef is known for its great beauty and sustainability of life, but in recent years that opinion may change. Many environmental factors are causing great distress on the reef and its marine life, which then causes disruptions to not only the reef, but also the rest of the world’s environment. Three of the reef’s major problems are pollution, coral bleaching, and overfishing; these problems alone are doing enough damage to severely impair the function

The Great Barrier Reef is dying. Twenty years ago, it was a flourishing string of 3,000 reef systems, and home to thousands of marine species. Today, global warming, water pollution and unregulated fishing are destroying The Great Barrier Reef and in order to reverse the damage, Australia’s government must fund the programs they promised to implement. If these problems are not resolved soon, the world is risking the loss of what thousands of species call home, and a beautiful site.

The mass tourism the Great Barrier Reef sees also brings in five to six billion Australian dollars per year. Luckily the Great Barrier Reef remains one of the world’s healthiest and best-protected marine areas. With such a wide array of uses for the Great Barrier Reef, from recreational to commercial, the Queensland government manages the marine park with the Zoning Plan. This plan places regulations on where each activity can occur and how much. The changing zones ensure that certain aspects of the ecosystem are not overly disturbed so that they can remain healthy. The Reef Trust and Reef Water Quality Protection Plan provide a framework for farmers and land managers to better prevent too much freshwater or pollutant runoff. All these protective measures are documented in the yearly GBR Outlook Report that helps authorities better manage the Reef in each specific

The Great Barrier Reef is located in the southern hemisphere, off the coastline of Queensland in northeastern Australia (18°S, 147°E). The Great Barrier Reef is 344’400km² in area. It is noted to be the most elaborate ecosystem in the world. A variety of organisms live in the Great Barrier Reef, around 1500 species of fish and about 2900 different coral reefs. It is known to be the largest coral reef system in the world, the reef includes many attributes other than the living organisms, like canyons, channels, and plateau’s. There are around 70 wide scale habitats in the Great Barrier Reef and more than 2000km² of mangroves, and around 6000km² of seabeds. There are also about 1050 islands that range from being small coral cays to large

The short term environmental consideration of building reef resilience include components such as nature; intensity and length of time of effects that will be set in place so that groups of people, animals of species and homes where they reside will recover from effects more expeditious and consequently, sanction the community to perpetuate functioning at a positive rate. Fish are a great benefit to the environment and 1,625 species of fish, virtually 10% of the world's fish species lives in the Great Barrier Reef so, it is highly recommended that we should maintain the reef and look after the other species that live in this world history listed reef. The long term of building reef toughness can include limits in species and this could