The Great Barrier Reef is ‘in danger’: Australia pushes back

The Great Barrier Reef is ‘in danger’: Australia pushes back

Subject :Environment

Context-

• A joint report by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and UNESCO’s World Heritage Centre (WHC) expressed concern about the status of the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) in Australia, recommending that it “be inscribed on the List of World Heritage in Danger.”

What does the IUCN-WHC report say?

• The panel of two scientists made 10 priority and 12 additional recommendations to preserve the “Outstanding Universal Value” (OUV) of the coral reef system.
• The GBR is adversely and significantly impacted by climate change factors, affecting its resilience to sustain and regenerate itself.
• Frequent bleaching events have made many reefs sterile.
• Degraded water quality poses a particular threat.
• The management of the property lacks clear climate change goals.
• The implementation of existing plans to conserve the GBR has been falling short, specifically in relation to the management of water quality and fishing activities.
• Inshore land-based activities, often outside the protected area, are particularly responsible for the degraded water quality in GBR.
• Pollutants from agricultural and construction activities have been damaging.

What the report has suggested-

• Adding the GBR to the List of World Heritage in Danger.
• Monitoring and evolving farming practices,
• greater commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions,
• addressing land erosion on the coast, and
• adopting sustainable fishing practices.

What does putting GBR on the List of World Heritage in Danger entail?

• The List of World Heritage in Danger is designed to inform the international community of conditions which threaten the very characteristics for which a property was inscribed on the World Heritage List, and to encourage corrective action.
• Under the 1972 World Heritage Convention, inscribing a site on the List allows the WHC to allocate immediate assistance from the World Heritage Fund to the endangered property, while simultaneously gathering international support and attention to the site.
• It is difficult for UNESCO to enforce any of its recommendations, and being put on the list does invite greater scrutiny for the site.
• Inclusion in such a list can have a tangible impact on all kinds of developmental projects, which may be politically significant for governments.

What is the Great Barrier Reef?

• Located off the coast of Queensland, Australia, the GBR is the world’s largest coral reef system with over 2,900 individual reefs,900 islands and an area covering approximately 344,400 square kilometres.
• The GBR is one of the biggest biodiversity hotspots in the world as well as one of its largest carbon sinks.
• For Australia, the GBR is a crucial contributor to the economy, supporting over 64,000 jobs and bringing in billions of annual revenue.
• As much as 99 per cent of the property lies within the GBR Marine Park in order to protect it from wanton exploitation.
• It is managed as a “multiple-use area”, with a range of commercial and tourism activities permitted.

Management of Great Barrier Reef (GBR)-

• A zoning plan is at the cornerstone of GBR’s management, determining what is permitted and where.
• Development and land use activities in coastal and water catchments adjacent to the property also have a critical influence on the property and are managed by the Queensland Government.
• Aboriginal populations undertake traditional use of marine resource activities to provide traditional food, practise their living maritime culture, and educate younger generations about traditional and cultural rules and protocols. They are one of GBR’s most important custodians.

Understanding Australia’s response

• If Australia were to adopt the recommendation of the panel to phase out “gill net fishing” which indiscriminately harms marine life (not just the intended catch), it would have to make substantial investments to compensate fisheries which rely on such a method.
• It may also lose political goodwill amongst fishermen who form a voting block in Queensland.

What is the List of World Heritage in Danger?

• The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) compiles the list of World Heritage in Danger.
• The List contains world heritage sites that are threatened by various conditions such as natural disasters, armed conflicts, wars, pollution, unchecked urbanisation, poaching, and uninhibited tourist development.
• UNESCO maintains the list of World Heritage Sites recognising sites of distinctive cultural or physical importance which is considered of outstanding value to humanity.
• According to the World Heritage Convention, the World Heritage Committee (that administers the Convention) adds World Heritage Sites to the danger list if the site satisfies one of the criteria in either of the two categories below.

1. Cultural properties-

2. Natural properties-

Some examples of Sites on the List of World Heritage in Danger

• There are 52 properties that the World Heritage Committee has decided to include on the List of World Heritage in danger in accordance with Article 11 (4) of the Convention.
• The following are some of the sites that are on the List of World Heritage in Danger as of July 2021.

1. Cultural Landscape and Archaeological Remains of the Bamiyan Valley (Afghanistan)
2. Historic Centre of Vienna (Austria)
3. Garamba National Park (Democratic Republic of the Congo)
4. Abu Mena (Egypt)
5. Tropical Rainforest Heritage of Sumatra (Indonesia)
6. Samarra Archaeological City (Iraq)
7. Old City of Jerusalem and its Walls (Jerusalem, proposed by Jordan)
8. Ancient Cities of Aleppo, Damascus, Bosra (Syria)
9. Everglades National Park (USA)
10. Old City of Sana’a (Yemen)

• No site from India find a place in the list.