The Great Barrier Reef

The Great Barrier Reef is one of the wonders of the natural world. It was declared a World Heritage area in 1981 and added to the National Heritage List in 2007. Unfortunately, the Great Barrier Reef faces many threats. Pollution caused by direct or indirect human activities are major threats to Australian reefs. (source 1).

Two million tourists visit the coral reef every year. This is great for the economy; however it can have huge negative impacts on the coral reef. The tourists are carried around the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park (GBRMP) by over 500 commercial vessels which drop fuel, anchors and other forms of pollution that damage the reef. The tourists also break the fragile corals by touching and reef walking as well as contaminating the water with sweat and suntan lotions. (Source 5)

Most damage to the reef has occurred in the last fifty years. It coincided almost exactly with an increase in land clearing (source 11) and the disappearance of wet lands (source 1) for coastal development followed by population growth (source 7) and farming (source 11). These disturbances to the environment damage natural habitats and loosened the sediment causing it to be washed into the ocean. The pollutants and pesticides from farming together with a sharp increase in the use of synthetic nitrogen in fertilizers (source 8) in the last fifty years sped up inland pollution. The pollutants bind with the sediments creating a sticky mud that covers the coral algae called zooxanthellae killing the coral. Pollutants and sediments also create a hazy cloud in the water blocking out sunlight and preventing photosynthesis. (source 12) Apart from this there is also an increase in marine based pollution such as ship wrecks (source 3) h...

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...ince there will be less demand for everything. Some may have to close down and suffer great losses. The social and economic costs are too great to count. The towns along the Great Barrier Reef will not be as vibrant. Children growing up in these towns will have less job prospects and may not even be allowed to start a new family in their home town because of the population cap. The residents will be furious!

On top of that, the proposal doesn’t tackle the major future threats to the Great Barrier Reef – climate change, pollution from farming and tourism. Therefore proposal two is a far more superior management plan for the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park. It has a more balanced approach, taking into consideration all aspects of environmental, social and economic factors. Proposal two is definitely economically more feasible in both short and long term.