The Great Barrier Reef has held onto its World Heritage listing, after UNESCO elected not to classify the landmark as “in danger”, but warned Australia that it could be revoked if changes are not made to protect the ecosystem.
The United Nations noted in their report that although climate factors have impacted the conservation of the world’s largest coral reef system, Australia has made steps to address the issue over the last 12 months.
“[Australia] has made significant progress to respond to the threat of climate change to the property and has made a series of strong commitments to reduce pressures on the [reef],” UNESCO said.
This comes after UNESCO requested for the reef to be added to the “in danger” list according to a draft report in June 2021, a premise rejected by the Morrison Government.
Following the report and the election of the Albanese Government, Environment and Water Minister Tanya Plibersek says that the Government has worked closely with UNESCO and the Queensland Government.
“We’ve invested $1.2 billion of additional funding to protect the reef,” Plibersek said.
“There’s now a government in Australia that is acting on climate change and that’s the biggest difference that UNESCO has identified.”
UNESCO’s motion will need to be passed by the World Heritage Committee when they meet in September.
Photo: flying over the Great Barrier Reef by Paul Asman and Jill Lenoble available HERE and used under a Creative Commons license. This image has not been modified.
