Great Barrier Reef Protected (1975)

By Royal Assent of the government of Australia, the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park was created on June 20, 1975.  The act stated that its purpose was “to provide for the long term protection and conservation of the environment, biodiversity and heritage values of the Great Barrier Reef Region.”

Giant clam on the Great Barrier Reef (photo by Jandark)

            And it is a “region,” often described as the world’s largest living structure.  The area included in the park is about half the size of Texas, or about the size of Germany.  The reef system stretches along the northeastern coast of Australia for about 1400 miles, making it 8 times longer than the world’s second longest reef (in Belize).  The park itself extends from shore into the sea, up to 150 miles at its widest.  The park specifically also includes the airspace above and the seafloor below the reef itself.

            The size is matched by the amount of biodiversity.  Ecosystems include 3000 coral reefs and about 1000 islands of various origin—land, coral and mangrove.  Those ecosystems are inhabited by an immense variety of species—600 corals, 100 jellyfish, 3000 mollusks, 500 annelids, more than 1700 fish and 30 marine mammals.

Agincourt Reef, Great Barrier Reef (photo by Robert Linsdell)

The park itself is what IUCN calls a “managed resource area.”  Rather than the type of total protection provided by typical U.S. national parks, the Great Barrier Reef is managed in zones.  Some zones are totally protected but others are available for commercial and aboriginal fishing, commercial tourism and as transportation corridors for port cities within the region .

Despite its protected status, the reef has been subject to negative impacts through time.  It is a UNESCO World Heritage Area, but in 2012, a special report by UNESCO indicated that it required more protection to retain that designation.  In response, the Australian government strengthened protection against transportation damage and siltation from poor land use practices on adjacent shore areas.  In 2015, the government announced the elimination of ongoing dredging operations, restriction on new port development and transportation corridors and allocation of $2 billion for restoration and protection.  The Reef 2050 Plan calls for a 50% reduction in sediment loads by 2025.

The coral features on Lizard Island, photographed here in 2014, have now been largely killed by climate change (photo by Ryan McMinds)

Climate change has also affected the Great Barrier Reef.  Long periods of exposure to warm water can kill coral animals, a process known as coral bleaching.  Reefs usually recover from bleaching events, but the recolonization process can take decades.  If warm-water events recur frequently, the damage can become irreversible.  Record high temperatures caused consecutive bleaching events in 2016 and 2017, damaging large areas of the reef.  Estimates suggest that up to one-third of shallow-water corals may have been killed on the northern reef.

References:

Commonwealth of Australia.  2015.  State party report on the state of conservation of the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area (Australia).  Available at:  http://www.environment.gov.au/system/files/resources/cb36afd7-7f52-468a-9d69-a6bdd7da156b/files/gbr-state-party-report-2015.pdf. Accessed June 21, 2017.

Commonwealth Consolidated Acts.  Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Act 1975-Sect 2A.  Available at:  http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/consol_act/gbrmpa1975257/s2a.html. Accessed June 21, 2017.

Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority.  Facts about the Great Barrier Reef.  Available at:  http://www.gbrmpa.gov.au/about-the-reef/facts-about-the-great-barrier-reef. Accessed June 21, 2017.

Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority.  Managing the Reef.  Available at:  http://www.gbrmpa.gov.au/managing-the-reef. Accessed June 21, 2017.

Greening Australia.  Improving the health of the Great Barrier Reef—Reef Aid.  Available at:  https://www.greeningaustralia.org.au/project/Great-Barrier-Reef. Accessed June 21, 2017.

Hoggenboom, Mia.  2016.  How will the Barrier Reef recover from the death of one-third of its northern corals?  The Conversation AU, May 30, 2016.  Available at:  https://theconversation.com/how-will-the-barrier-reef-recover-from-the-death-of-one-third-of-its-northern-corals-60186.  Accessed June 21, 2017.

This Month in Conservation

March 1
Yellowstone National Park Established (1872)
March 2
Theodore Geisel, or Dr. Seuss, Born (1904)
March 3
World Wildlife Day and Creation of CITES (1973)
March 3
Isle Royale National Park Authorized (1931)
March 4
Hot Springs National Park Established (1921)
March 5
Lynn Margulis, Evolutionary Biologist, Born (1938)
March 6
Martha Burton Williamson, Pioneering Malacologist, Born (1843)
March 7
Luther Burbank Born (1849)
March 8
Everett Horton Patents the Telescoping Fishing Rod (1887)
March 9
The Turbot War Begins (1995)
March 10
Cape Lookout National Seashore Established (1966)
March 11
Save the Redwoods League Founded (1918)
March 12
Girl Scouts Founded (1912)
March 12
Charles Young, First African American National Park Superintendent, Born (1864)
March 13
National Elephant Day, Thailand
March 14
First National Wildlife Refuge Created (1903)
March 15
Harold L. Ickes, Secretary of the Interior, Born (1874)
March 16
Amoco Cadiz Runs Aground (1978)
March 17
St. Patrick and Ireland’s Snakes
March 18
Nation’s First Wildlife Refuge Created (1870)
March 19
When the Swallows Return to Capistrano
March 20
“Our Common Future” Published (1987)
March 21
International Day of Forests
March 22
World Water Day
March 23
Sitka National Historical Park Created (1910)
March 24
John Wesley Powell, Western Explorer, Born (1834)
March 25
Norman Borlaug, Father of the Green Revolution, Born (1914)
March 26
Marjorie Harris Carr, Pioneering Florida Conservationist, Born (1915)
March 26
Kruger National Park Established (1898)
March 27
Trans-Alaska Pipeline Begun (1975)
March 28
Joseph Bazalgette, London’s Sewer King, Born (1819)
March 29
Niagara Falls Stops Flowing (1848)
March 30
The United States Buys Alaska (1867)
March 31
Al Gore, Environmental Activist and U.S. Vice President, Born (1948)
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