Great Barrier Reef World Heritage – Nature in Danger

Pocock, Celmara ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3257-9689 (2022) Great Barrier Reef World Heritage – Nature in Danger. Queensland Review, 28 (2). pp. 118-129. ISSN 1321-8166

Abstract

The Great Barrier Reef is inscribed on the World Heritage List for its natural values, including an abundance of marine life and extraordinary aesthetic qualities. These and the enormous scale of the Reef makes it unique and a place of 'Outstanding Universal Value'. In the twentieth century protection of the Great Barrier Reef shifted from limiting mechanical and physical impacts on coral reefs, to managing agricultural runoff from adjacent mainland to minimise environmental impacts. By the early twentieth-first century it was apparent that threats to the Great Barrier Reef were no longer a local issue. Global warming, more frequent extreme weather events, and increased ocean temperatures have destroyed vast swathes of coral reefs. Conservation scientists have begun trialling radical new methods of reseeding areas of bleached coral, and creating more resilient coral species. The future of the Great Barrier Reef may then depend on genetically engineered corals, and reefs that are seeded, weeded and cultured. This paper asks whether the Great Barrier Reef can remain a natural World Heritage site or whether it might become World Heritage in Danger as its naturalness is questioned.

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Item Type:	Article (Commonwealth Reporting Category C)
Refereed:	Yes
Item Status:	Live Archive
Additional Information:	Files associated with this item cannot be displayed due to copyright restrictions.
Faculty/School / Institute/Centre:	Current - Institute for Resilient Regions - Centre for Heritage and Culture (1 Aug 2018 -)
Faculty/School / Institute/Centre:	Current - Faculty of Business, Education, Law and Arts - School of Humanities and Communication (1 Mar 2019 -)
Date Deposited:	09 May 2022 03:27
Last Modified:	09 May 2022 03:27
Uncontrolled Keywords:	world heritage, Great Barrier Reef, nature, culture, conservation, environment
Fields of Research (2008):	16 Studies in Human Society > 1601 Anthropology > 160104 Social and Cultural Anthropology 21 History and Archaeology > 2103 Historical Studies > 210303 Australian History (excl. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander History) 05 Environmental Sciences > 0502 Environmental Science and Management > 050209 Natural Resource Management 21 History and Archaeology > 2102 Curatorial and Related Studies > 210202 Heritage and Cultural Conservation
Fields of Research (2020):	43 HISTORY, HERITAGE AND ARCHAEOLOGY > 4303 Historical studies > 430302 Australian history 43 HISTORY, HERITAGE AND ARCHAEOLOGY > 4303 Historical studies > 430307 Environmental history 43 HISTORY, HERITAGE AND ARCHAEOLOGY > 4302 Heritage, archive and museum studies > 430203 Cultural heritage management (incl. world heritage) 43 HISTORY, HERITAGE AND ARCHAEOLOGY > 4302 Heritage, archive and museum studies > 430202 Critical heritage, museum and archive studies
Socio-Economic Objectives (2008):	C Society > 95 Cultural Understanding > 9503 Heritage > 950305 Conserving Natural Heritage
Socio-Economic Objectives (2020):	13 CULTURE AND SOCIETY > 1304 Heritage > 130404 Conserving natural heritage
Identification Number or DOI:	https://doi.org/10.1017/qre.2022.8
URI:	http://eprints.usq.edu.au/id/eprint/44722

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