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Some issues are not serious now but could threaten the Great Barrier Reef in the
future if left unaddressed. These include disturbance of the Reef’s ecosystem by
tourists, pest species and disease.
Tourism
The threat of tourism is greatest around Cairns, Port
Douglas and the Whitsunday Islands, where most tourists
to the Reef stay. Potential problems include coral being
damaged by boats, anchors, fishers, divers and illegal
souvenir hunters. Damage to coral takes decades to
recover. Animals may also be disturbed or injured.
Eco-certified tourism operators help to educate and
inform tourists in order to reduce these threats.
Eco-certified tourism
operators
More than 40 per cent of tourists to
the Great Barrier Reef use eco-certified
tourism operators. These companies
receive special training to minimise the
environmental impact of their own and
their customers’ activities in the Park.
Overfishing of the major predator of the crown-of-thorns starfish (COTS),
the triton, may have helped cause COTS outbreaks. There are more COTS in
areas where the triton is fished than in non-fished zones.
Introduced pest species
Pest species, such as the Asian green mussel, sometimes ‘hitchhike’ from other countries on
visiting ships. Once in the Reef area, they compete with native species for food and habitats.
None of the 15 introduced species recorded by Queensland Ports currently threatens the Great
Barrier Reef’s biodiversity or its fishing industries.
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Teaching tourists to ‘look but don’t touch’ is vital in keeping the Reef’s
fish healthy. Fish have a slime layer that protects them from germs, but it
is easily broken if touched.
Native pest species
Introduction of diseases
Some native species also disturb the balance
of the ecosystem. The crown-of-thorns
starfish (COTS) is native to the Great Barrier
Reef. It feeds on live coral. COTS population
explosions, called outbreaks, can destroy
whole reefs. Scientists think that human
activities are a factor in causing outbreaks,
which have only been observed for the past 40
years.
Introduced species could potentially bring
new diseases with them. Seven diseases are
already known to exist in the Reef’s corals.
Although coral disease in the Great Barrier
Reef has increased, it is not currently a major
threat.
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The future of the Great Barrier Reef looks grim because the Great Barrier Reef
Marine Park Authority cannot directly protect the Reef from the worldwide threat
of climate change. However, addressing local threats gives the Reef a better
chance of resisting the effects of climate change.
Climate change
In the Great Barrier Reef area, climate change
is causing increased coral bleaching, sea
temperature, sea level and acidification. The
Reef’s future largely depends on how well
and how quickly the world adopts renewable
energy sources to decrease greenhouse gases.
Without swift global action, the Reef’s structure
and ecosystem will ultimately collapse.
The Great Barrier Reef Climate Change
Action Plan 2007–2012
This Action Plan aims to build the Reef’s
health and limit the impact of climate change.
Part of the funding from a ‘Caring for our
Country’ program, which has received $200
million dollars over five years, is going towards
putting the Action Plan into practice.
… much of what will happen
to the Great Barrier Reef in
the future will be determined
by factors external to it and
Australia.
Great Barrier Reef Marine Park
Authority, Outlook Report, 2009
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Without swift, effective
global action against
climate change, coral
bleaching in the Great
Barrier Reef will become
more frequent and more
severe.
Pollution
Management actions are tackling the problem of pollution
entering the Reef. Recent improvements to nearby farming
practices have reduced pollution levels in catchment runoff. Revisions to planning and development rules by the
Queensland Government address pollution coming from
coastal towns and cities. Maritime laws deal with pollution
coming from shipping. However, critics argue for stricter
laws, better enforcement and tougher fines.
I have seen the sediment
plume from the Fitzroy River
after the big 90–91 flood, that
was the one that killed all the
Reef out here at Keppel Island.
It was enormous.
Lionel Bevis, resident of Keppel
Island, 2007
Coastal
development
By 2026, the number of
people living beside the Great
Barrier Reef is predicted to
be almost 40 per cent higher.
Ongoing careful planning and
management will be needed
to minimise the impact of
pollution and habitat loss
from coastal development
on the Reef’s ecosystem.
Coastal development
can destroy nearby
habitats and pollute
the Great Barrier
Reef ecosystem.
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There are two sides to every issue. There are arguments both for and against doing
more to protect the Great Barrier Reef.
Arguments for
Arguments against
hhIf there was more money and there were
hhIncreased protection would not address the
more people to protect the Reef, better
management and planning decisions could
be made.
hhIf there were tighter controls on fishing,
fewer animals would be removed from their
habitats.
hhIf there were tighter controls on tourism,
there would be less damage to the Reef
from human activities.
major threats of climate change.
hhIncreased protection could affect Australia’s
economy, because it is expensive and some
people employed in tourism or fishing
could lose their jobs.
hhIncreased protection could deny the rights
of Indigenous Australians (by restricting
traditional activities) and groups such as
fishers and farmers.
hhIf there were tighter controls on shipping,
acidification the process that makes water more acidic
biodiversity the variety of living things in a particular place
bycatch unwanted species caught by fishing nets and lines
catchment run-off rainwater that collects in an area and flows through rivers into the sea
climate change the process by which the world’s climate is changing due to an increase
in the levels of certain gases in the atmosphere
coastal development building on or using the land next to the sea
controversial a subject about which there is strong disagreement
coral bleaching when a major change in the environment stresses hard corals, causing
them to turn white
economy the system of organising goods and services
ecosystem a community of living and non-living things and the interactions between them
extinct having died out
food web a community of species that depend on each other for food
greenhouse gases gases such as carbon dioxide that trap heat in the atmosphere
there would be fewer oil spills and ships
running aground.
habitats the places where animals and plants live
introduced species species brought to an area where they are not naturally found
native naturally found in a region or country
native title the recognition by Australian law that Indigenous people still practising their
traditional laws and customs in a place hold rights to that place
…ongoing efforts by State and
Commonwealth Authorities to reduce
local and regional pressures must be
maintained to maximise the resilience
of the GBR [Great Barrier Reef].
Australian Institute of Marine Science,
2009
Ultimately, if changes to the world’s
climate become too severe, no
management actions will be able to
climate-proof the Great Barrier Reef
ecosystem.
overfishing when so many individuals of a fish species are taken from an area that the
population’s future is threatened
Great Barrier Reef Marine Park
Authority, Outlook Report, 2009
predator an animal that lives by preying on other animals
pesticide a chemical used to kill pests such as insects
polluted made impure
renewable something that is not used up and is able to be renewed
salinity the concentration of salt in water or soil
sediment tiny bits of soil and stone that settle to the bottom of water
k?
What do you thin
doing
Should we be
t the Great
more to protec
Barrier Reef?
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sustainable able to be used and conserved for the future
traditional owners the people who lived in a place first
trawling catching animals from the sea using a boat dragging a bag-like net
zoning dividing a place into different areas (or zones) for different activities
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