Australia’s Great Barrier Reef Under Water

The World Heritage Committee of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) listed Australia’s Great Barrier Reef as a World Heritage Site and property in 1981, but the Institute of Marine Science in Australia revealed that about half of the coral reef has been lost over the past 30 years, and this is not unconnected to water pollution, coastal development, and rising sea temperatures.

This development is causing some headaches to the ministry of environment in Australia, more so since UNESCO warned that it might blacklist the site if conservation efforts are not boosted at the site within the next few years. As a way of showing it is working at preserving the coral reef, the World Heritage Committee has asked the government of Australia to report back within the next 18 months on what it is actually doing to protect the reef.

Stretching for over 2,300 kilometers along the east coast, the Great Barrier Reef in Australia has about 3,000 active coral reefs on 1,050 islands. The great reef hosts over 1,500 types of fish, including rare turtle varieties and the snubfin dolphins.

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott pledged to give 100 million Australian dollars or $77 million USD to fund repairing and improving the quality of water along the reef, and this will also include conservation efforts like prohibiting the dumping of dredged mud and refuse in the reef, as well as limiting the use of pesticides and reducing sediments at the region.

The notion that the UNESCO would blacklist the great reef as an endangered site initially won the supports of the opposition Labour party and the conservative government, but with renewed efforts it is possible that the Great Barrier Reef would regain its glory and be out of any environmental danger.