Great Barrier Reef

The Great Barrier Reef is the world's largest coral reef. The reef is located in the Coral Sea off the coast of Queensland in north-east Australia. It stretches over 2000 kilometres in length and can be seen from space. An ancient barrier reef similar to the Great Barrier Reef can be found in The Kimberlies.

Managing the Great Barrier Reef

There are over 1.9 million visitors to the Great Barrier Reef each year http://www.gbrmpa.gov.au/corp_site/key_issues/tourism/gbr_visitation/page_02.html. Although most of these visits are highly regulated, there are some very popular areas near shore, like Green Island that have suffered damage from tourist activity.

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The Great Barrier Reef was inscribed as a World Heritage Site in 1981. The Australian Government in partnership with the state of Queensland manages the Great Barrier Reef to ensure it is protected, used wisely, its range of biodiversity is understood and all people are able to enjoy and use in ther resources of the Great Barrier Reef in a sustainable manner. Through the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, the Australian Government uses a combination of zoning, plans of management,pemitting as well as education and incentives (such as eco-tourism certification) in its effort to conserve the Great Barrier Reef http://www.gbrmpa.gov.au/. On July 1, 2004 the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park became the largest marine protected area in the world when the Australian Government increased the areas protected from extractive actvities such as fishing from 4.5% to 33.3%. .

Related Topics:
World Heritage Site - 1981 - July 1 - 2004

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Managing the Great Barrier Reef as a multiple use environment is a challenging ongoing activity that both the Australian and Queensland Governments do in close partnership with the communities and industries that use and enjoy the Great Barrier Reef.

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