A draft UNESCO decision has left Australia’s Great Barrier Reef — the world’s largest coral reef system — off the United Nations (UN) agency’s list of endangered sites, much to Canberra’s relief.
The UN had previously expressed “utmost concern” about the future of the Great Barrier Reef over mass coral bleaching and the impact of climate change.
UN scientists had called for the reef to be added to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) list of world heritage sites that are in danger.
However, the UNESCO World Heritage Committee said in its draft report — which was unveiled on Friday night in Paris — that Australia was working towards addressing concerns of the impacts to the reef, including climate change, water quality, sustainable fisheries management and land clearing.
At the same time, the draft decision also raised concern over the reef’s declining hard coral cover following mass bleaching in 2024 and 2025.
“While the resilience of the reef remains evident, its capacity to tolerate and recover from such events is increasingly compromised,” the committee wrote.
Australia hails UNESCO decision
Successive governments in Canberra have lobbied for years to keep the reef off the endangered list.
The reef — which spans 2,300 kilometers (1,426 mile) along the coast of northeastern Queensland state — is a major tourist attraction, witnessing more than 2 million visitors each year.
The reef contributes over 9.0 billion Australian dollars (€5.45 billion, $6.25 billion) to Australia’s economy every year and supports some 77,000 jobs, according to government estimates.
“Australia welcomes UNESCO’s decision to not list the reef as endangered, and recognize all of the work that’s been going into protecting the reef,” the country’s Assistant Tourism Minister Nita Green said in televised statement on Saturday.
Australia will now have to provide another progress report to UNESCO on the Great Barrier Reef in 2028.
“This is the first time in quite a few years since we’ve been working to restore the Great Barrier Reef under this government that we’ve had such an extensive reporting period put to us,” Green said.
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Coral bleaching on the Great Barrier Reef
The Great Barrier Reef has beenon UNESCO’s World Heritage List since 1981.
It is home to 400 types of coral and 1,500 species of fish.
The iconic marine site has experienced six mass coral bleaching events since 2016.
Bleaching occurs when the colorful algae that live within corals and feed them begin to produce toxins as a result of warming waters, causing their hosts to expel them and turn white. The process leaves the corals greatly vulnerable to disease and starvation.
UNESCO first warned in 2021 that the reef was at risk of being out on the endangered list. It has since been monitoring the reef annually.
Green said on Saturday that UNESCO’s latest decision “recognizes all of the work that Australia has been doing to manage those risks but also recognizes that climate change will continue to be a risk to the reef.”
Edited by: Saim Dušan Inayatullah
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