Reef 'In Danger' recommendation - UNESCO
Reef 'In Danger' recommendation - UNESCO
The United Nations Educational Scientific Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) and International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) have recommended that the Great Barrier Reef be listed as ‘World Heritage In Danger’, as part of a report on their joint reactive reef monitoring mission conducted earlier this year.
The ‘In Danger’ recommendation has been made ahead of the 45th session of the World Heritage Committee, which will examine the full report and its findings. The meeting was originally scheduled for June 2022 in Russia but has been postponed, and a new date has not been set.
The mission’s report, released on Monday, said current conservation efforts were not enough to protect the Great Barrier Reef, “in large part due to the sheer scale of the challenge” presented by climate change, development, and deteriorating water quality.
However, the Albanese government has vowed to fight the recommendation, saying it is working on climate change and other key threats.
Australia said Tuesday it plans to lobby against UN plans to add the Great Barrier Reef to a list of endangered UNESCO World Heritage sites.
In her response to the report, federal Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek stressed that the monitoring mission took place while the Morrison government was still in power and stressed Labor's "significant steps forward on climate".
UNESCO has advised greater investment in water quality, recommendations which will see mounting pressure on the Albanese government.
Although Labor has strengthened Australia's climate policies and invested more in the Great Barrier Reef, its policies and actions are not in line with the recommendations made by the UNESCO report.
Eleanor Carter from the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Hans Thulstrup from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) traveled to Australia from March 21 to 2022 and met with a range of politicians, public servants, experts, and traditional owners.
To recall, The Great Barrier Reef has experienced six mass coral bleaching events — in 2022, 2020, 2017, 2016, 2002, and 1998. Recent reports show record heat over northern parts of the GBR, raising fears of a second summer of bleaching. The joint UNESCO / IUCN monitoring mission assessed the condition of the Reef in March 2022, while the sixth mass coral bleaching event was unfolding.
The Great Barrier Reef is a site of remarkable variety and beauty on the northeast coast of Australia. It contains the world’s largest collection of coral reefs, with 400 types of coral, 1,500 species of fish, and 4,000 types of mollusc.