Global Issues and Society

IDST 2205-10
Professor Jefferson G. Edgens
Student’s Name: Sehla Sarwar

The Great Barrier Reef

The largest coral reef in the world is the Great Barrier Reef. This reef is
in Australia; parallel to the coast of Queensland for almost 2000km. 1/5th of
the world's reef area is in Australia and most is located in the Great Barrier
Reef. Reefs are formed on special conditions. They form where water is
always above 18 degree Celsius and is clear enough for sunlight to pass
through. Corals found in the Great Barrier Reef contain algae and the algae
produce oxygen and help the coral to remove wastes. When this relationship
breaks down, the coral suffers and becomes bleached. Bleaching is a major
worry for those looking after reef health, as coral dies if bleaching is
prolonged. The Great Barrier Reef is a natural beauty park, which is the
home of thousands of species of aquatic animals.

The Great Barrier Reef is a natural wonder and is a declared World

Heritage Site. It encompasses 350,000 square kilometers of the South Pacific
Ocean, which has plenty of room for an enormous diversity of marine life,
both above and below the water. The eco system supports the greatest
concentration of life on the planet including 1500 species of fish, 350
different corals, 4000 species of mollusks, and 10,000 species of sponges.
Then of course there is the big stuff. A variety of sharks inhabit the reef and
there are dolphins, turtles, and seasonal sightings of migrating whales.
Besides animals, the variety of marine plants, and the ever-present sea birds
complete the natural beauty that is the World Heritage ecosystem of the
Great Barrier Reef.

Surprisingly the bulk of fishes on the Great Barrier Reef belong to just a
few family groups. After diving and snorkeling on the reef it becomes quite
easy to not only recognize these groups but also start to categorize them, by
their shape, color as well as behavior. Some of the examples of the colourful
fishes are damselfish, wrasse, butterfly fish, angelfish, cardinal fish,
groupers and basslets, parrotfish, surgeonfish, blennies, gobies, triggerfish,
and the anemone or clown fish. Even though the fishes are very colorful and
attractive but there are some species which can be very dangerous and fatal.
Some of the most known dangerous creatures in the reef are the irukandji
jellyfish, box jelly fish, blue ringed octopus, cone shells, lion fish, stone
fish, sea snakes, and stingrays. Besides the fish the other atrraction is the
birds of the reef. Forty species of seabirds have been recorded on the Great
Barrier Reef, 24 of them breeding in the region. An estimated 70 percent of
these migrate or disperse after breeding, but as nesting occurs in all months
of the year the area is always host to very large numbers of birds.

Responsibility for establishing, planning and running the marine park rests
with the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, a Commonwealth
Government agency. The Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service (a State
Government agency) is responsible for the day-to-day management of the
marine park - the field operations - or `wet end' of marine park management.
This involves public contact, environmental impact assessment, monitoring
(e.g. effects of visitor activities), surveillance (by aircraft and patrol vessels),
enforcement and education. The Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service is
also responsible for managing island national parks and state marine parks.
The main tool used in managing the Great Barrier Reef is zoning. Each
marine park zone has specific management objectives, which determine the
human activities that may or may not take place in that zone and you must
have a permit for certain activities. However, most zones allow a wide range
of uses such as fishing and boating (over 95 percent of the Great Barrier
Reef Marine Park is zoned for general use). Only in a few zones are certain
activities prohibited.

Part of Australia’s economy depends on the Great Barrier Reef. Every

year millions of dollars are spent by tourists to visit the reef. Tourism, which
was almost non-existent in 1950, has grown to become the principal industry
in the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage sector. There are few statistics
available from the early days but some indications of the growing awareness
of the region as a holiday destination. One publication, Cairns a Guide for
Residents, Tourists and Business Men, 1938, states, "Without a doubt, the
tourist traffic is a highly important industry to the Cairns district. During the
winter months thousands of visitors take the opportunity of visiting the
sunny north in order to escape the rigors of the southern winter." A 1946
report, produced by the newly established Queensland Tourist Development
Board, stated that 5000 visitors a year were visiting the group of Barrier
Reef Islands of the Whitsunday Passage, already selected by this board as
one of Queensland’s outstanding tourist attractions. Technology, combined
with a rapid worldwide rise in interest in recreational travel, transformed
reef tourism in the later 1970's and 80's. The first large, high speed
catamaran carrying 150 people at over 25 knots - and thus to previously
inaccessible reefs - were introduced in 1982. Snorkeling gear, and then
Scuba gear, began to be used with frequency at about the same time.
Consequently, the number of companies involved in the industry increased
dramatically, from fewer than 12 in 1968 to 180 in 1987 and 742 in 1998.
Similarly, there has been a huge increase in the numbers of visitors. In the
early 1980's, this was estimated at 150 000 visitor days per year (40 times
the visitation on the pre-1950 period). In 1987 this had risen to 450 000 and,
20 years later (1997), 2.6 million visitor-days were recorded. In financial
terms, the gross output of tourism in 1987 was measured at around $200
million; by 1996, this had risen to roughly $650 million with the total value
of reef tourism now calculated at over $2 billion (2006). Growth forecasts
for the next decade range from five to ten percent.

Historically, the Reef has been regarded as a well-protected, pristine

wonderland - a place of delicate corals, abundant fish life and a haven for
other marine life. As scientists came to understand more about the reef's
complexities, a different picture emerged - overfishing, land-based pollution
and coral bleaching exacerbated by increased sea temperatures due to global
warming are all impacting upon its natural wealth.
The amount of sediment flowing from the land into the marine park from its
catchment area has quadrupled over the past 150 years due largely to grazing
and cropping expansion in the catchment and loss of native vegetation and
wetlands.
The reef has experienced two mass coral bleaching events - in 1998 and
2002. Bleaching was more severe in 2002, with aerial surveys finding that
almost 60% of reefs were bleached to some degree.
Not only is the reef subject to high levels of fishing pressure, other fishing
practices such as seafloor trawling for prawns are still permitted in over half
of the marine park, resulting in untargeted fish capture (by-catch) and
destruction of the seafloor.
To resolve these problems, there are some solutions. Maintaining a well
funded, enforced and monitored network of marine sanctuaries throughout
the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park is essential to protect representative
areas, as well as areas that are of special or unique biological value.
Healthy levels of fishing effort in the marine park are needed to safeguard
the Reef's biodiversity. The joint Australian and Queensland governments'
Reef Water Quality Protection Plan confirms that effective action must be
taken now to reduce land-based sources of sediment, nutrient and pesticide
pollution further damaging in-shore reefs. Also the future impacts of global
warming must be included in government plans regarding the Reef at a local
level, and action must be taken at a national level to reduce CO2 emissions.

The Great Barrier Reef is a natural World Heritage. It not only gives the
pleasure of some beautiful views but also is the home of thousands of
species among which some are very rare. It is our duty to step forward and
help in protecting this natural heritage not only for us but also for the future
generations.
 Works Citied:

 http://www.barrierreefaustralia.com
 Title: Australia pushes new climate plan
Authors: Paul Wiseman
Source: USA Today; 09/06/2007
ISSN: 0734-7456
Accession Number: J0E236443143607
 http://nationalgeographic.com
 http://www.environment.gov.au
 FED: Barrier Reef in danger - expert. (12 February). AAP General
News Wire,1. Retrieved October 18, 2007, from Research
Library database. (Document ID: 837527191).