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Background
The **Great Barrier Reef Marine Park** is managed by the [|Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority]. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The park lies east of the mainland coast of Queensland, Australia starting in the north at Cape York. Its northern boundary is the circle of latitude 10°41'S (running east up to the eastern edge of the Great Barrier Reef at 145º19'33"E), thereby encompassing a few uninhabited Torres Strait Islands that are east of Cape York, south of 10°41'S and north of 11°00'S.

The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park is a multiple-use area. Tourism, recreation, port operations, shipping and commercial fishing have been features of the Marine Park since it was created in 1975.

Key Links
[]
 * [|Latest news]
 * [|Reef in Brief e-newsletter]
 * [|Reef have your say]
 * [|Reef Guardians]
 * [|Field Management Partners]
 * [|Eye on the Reef]
 * [|Great Barrier Reef Marine Park general reference map]
 * [|eLibrary Publications]
 * [|Publications]
 * [|Spatial Data Information Services]
 * [|Library Services]

Planeta.com
[]

Headlines
[] [|Queensland Labor keeps promise on Great Barrier Reef coal-ship loading ban] [|National-Press-Club-address-Peter-Garrett-Final-.pdf] - [|@pgarrett] [|queensland-tourism-award-winner-rejects-adani-sponsored-prize] [|dive-great-barrier-reef-vr-virtual-reality-with-netflix-google/] [|4corners/digging-into-adani/9008500] [|Can we save the Great Barrier Reef? An interview with Professor Justin Marshall] [|http://www.abc.net.au/triplej/programs/hack/how-the-great-barrier-reef-can-be-doomed-and-not-in-danger] [] [] [] [|https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/au/Documents/Economics/deloitte-au-economics-great-barrier-reef.pdf] [|https://www.environment.gov.au/system/files/resource9/files/gbr-economic-contribution.pdf] (2013) [|catastrophic-coral-bleaching-great-barrier-reef-map] [|great-barrier-reef-tourism-caught-between-commerce-and-conservation-alarm] [|Scientists: Warming water 'cooking' Great Barrier Reef] [|back-to-back-bleaching-has-now-hit-two-thirds-of-the-great-barrier-reef] [|climate-council-says-gbr-bleaching-will-cost-$1-billion-annual] [|Coral Grief - Nature.com] [|Great Barrier Reef tourism headed for tough times as coral bleaching worsens] [|http://earthsky.org/earth/great-barrier-reef-bleaching-dying-nature] [|australian-officials-attend-unprecedented-unesco-reef-meeting] [|Coral Grief - Nature.com] [|Great Barrier Reef tourism headed for tough times as coral bleaching worsens] [|http://earthsky.org/earth/great-barrier-reef-bleaching-dying-nature] [|australian-officials-attend-unprecedented-unesco-reef-meeting] [|Can tourism protect the Great Barrier Reef?] [|'Significant event': Coral bleaching returns to the Great Barrier Reef] [|Great Barrier Reef Braces for Another Massive Bleaching Event]

Nature http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v543/n7645/index.html http://www.nature.com/uidfinder/10.1038/nature21707 http://www.nature.com/news/no-time-to-chop-funding-for-a-pivotal-climate-programme-1.21625

The cover shows [|bleached corals]  on the northern Great Barrier Reef in 2016. Work by [|Terry Hughes and colleagues]  has revealed that the cumulative footprint of multiple bleaching events has expanded to encompass virtually all of the Great Barrier Reef in the past two decades. The bleaching event in 2016 was the most severe, affecting 91% of individual reefs. Hughes and his team used aerial and underwater survey data combined with satellite-derived measurements of sea-surface temperature to assess changes in the geographical footprint of recurrent mass bleaching events. Their results reveal just how badly climate change is affecting the Great Barrier Reef, and they argue that immediate global action is needed to secure a future for coral reefs. Cover image: Edward Roberts, Tethys Images

Denial
http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/03/20/delingpole-great-barrier-reef-still-not-dying-whatever-washington-post-says

Reports
[|Climate Change: A Deadly Threat To Coral Reefs]

Slideshare
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RSS

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http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/oceania/australia/articles/coral-bleaching-could-cost-australian-tourist-industry-616-million-annually http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-12-05/great-barrier-reef-in-danger-listing/8093548 https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/nov/07/great-barrier-reef-authority-a-shell-of-its-former-self-says-queensland-minister http://www.theage.com.au/interactive/2016/saving-the-reef http://www.ecotravelist.com/destinations/australia-the-south-pacific/review-reefsleep-great-barrier-reef - https://twitter.com/ecotravelist/status/790738421341761536 https://www.buzzfeed.com/aliceworkman/bleaching-dory http://www.environment.gov.au/marine/gbr/long-term-sustainability-plan https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/sep/20/leonardo-dicaprio-given-rival-invitations-to-visit-great-barrier-reef http://www.travelandleisure.com/hotels-resorts/the-great-barrier-reef-in-australia https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/aug/02/un-tries-to-hide-involvement-in-deleting-australia-from-its-climate-report http://www.climatechangenews.com/2016/08/01/un-asked-australia-to-cover-up-great-barrier-reef-lobbying http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/rearvision/history-and-future-of-protecting-great-barrier-reef/7649840 http://www.ecotourism.org.au/news/reef-surveys-show-signs-of-hope-and-tourism-can-help https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/jun/30/un-committee-may-again-consider-listing-great-barrier-reef-as-in-danger https://www.theguardian.com/environment/video/2016/jun/07/coral-bleaching-has-changed-the-great-barrier-reef-forever-video https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/jun/07/the-great-barrier-reef-a-catastrophe-laid-bare http://www.news.com.au/travel/travel-updates/tourists-say-they-will-avoid-australia-because-of-damage-to-the-great-barrier-reef/news-story/64e5a07f39b7cef0383f363fac5b7dd1 http://www.afr.com/news/politics/election-2016-malcolm-turnbull-to-spend-1b-on-the-great-barrier-reef-over-a-decade-20160612-gphfnz http://www.news.com.au/technology/environment/climate-change/the-truth-australia-doesnt-want-to-hear-about-saving-the-great-barrier-reef/news-story/d636e9dc5a85bcf5d2f6e1278697ae5a http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-06-02/great-barrier-reef-pollution-fight-could-cost-billions/7469740 http://www.theguardian.com/environment/planet-oz/2016/may/30/australias-censorship-of-unesco-climate-report-is-like-a-shakespearean-tragedy http://blog.ucsusa.org/adam-markham/australias-iconic-great-barrier-reef-world-heritage-site-at-risk-from-global-warming http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/may/27/revealed-the-report-on-the-great-barrier-reef-that-australia-didnt-want-the-world-to-see http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/may/27/great-barrier-reef-un-report-lead-author-shocked-all-australian-references-removed http://www.smh.com.au/environment/australia-cut-from-un-report-on-climate-threat-to-avoid-damaging-reef-tourism-20160526-gp4zzo.html [|Survey: two-thirds of Great Barrier Reef tourists want to ‘see it before it’s gone’] [] [|Great Barrier Reef: tourism operators urge Australian government to tackle climate change] - https://twitter.com/MikeySlezak - [|Outbounding] [] [|Mourning Loomis Reef - the heart of the Great Barrier Reef's coral bleaching disaster] [|Great Barrier Reef Island Soundscape - Marc Anderson] - [|@wildambience]
 * 2016 Headlines**

Bleaching
http://www.coralcoe.org.au/media-releases/only-7-of-the-great-barrier-reef-has-avoided-coral-bleaching - [|@CoralCoE] media type="custom" key="28453159"

Summer temperatures in February-April 2016 have caused severe and widespread coral bleaching in Australia. On the east coast, this is the third mass bleaching event for the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) and 93% of reefs have been affected. Compared to earlier mass bleaching in 1998 and 2002, 2016 is much more severe, with 50-80% coral mortality recorded on many northern reefs. The geographic footprint of each of the three events has been different, with each one explained by where the hottest temperatures occurred. Based on aerial and underwater surveys of >1000 reefs in 2016 and 650 reefs in 1998 and 2002, we can now identify reefs that have bleached 0, 1, 2 or 3 times, and examine their attributes. Over time progressively fewer GBR reefs have escaped bleaching, and because of the severity of the most recent event, hundreds of reefs have bleached for the first time in 2016. For the Great Barrier Reef and elsewhere, we have already entered an era when the return time of mass bleaching caused by global warming is shorter than the recovery time of long-lived coral assemblages. http://www.coralcoe.org.au/crs_event/public-lecture-the-2016-coral-bleaching-event-in-australia

[|In pictures: a close-up look at the Great Barrier Reef’s bleaching] [|Coral Bleaching Taskforce: more than 1,000 km of the Great Barrier Reef has bleached] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [|Great Barrier Reef resorts ride tourism boom] [|Great Barrier Reef report reveals inshore marine environment remains poor] [|A Multi-Faceted Natural Asset Trust for the Great Barrier Reef] [|Great Barrier grief Is Australia doing enough to protect one of the world’s great wonders?] [|Great Barrier Reef: World Heritage Committee decides against declaring reef as 'in danger'] [|Queensland minister says green groups forced radical shift on Great Barrier Reef] [|Its-time-for-the-new-great-barrier-reef-expert-panel-to-wade-into-the-issue] [|the-barrier-reef-is-not-listed-as-in-danger-but-the-threats-remain-42548] [] [|http://www.smh.com.au/environment/will-the-great-barrier-reef-be-declared-endangered-by-the-united-nations] [|http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/property/billion-aquis-great-barrier-reef-resort-wins-federal-approval] [|Judgement Day - Economist] [|Minister: More work to be done to save the Great Barrier Reef] [|Dumping Abbot Point dredge spoil on land won’t save the reef] [|david-attenboroughs-great-barrier-reef-documentary-to-spark-surge-in-tourists] http://www.news.com.au/national/breaking-news/qld-govt-announces-new-dredge-plan/story-e6frfku9-1227258410610 [|Great Barrier Reef in dire straits without extra $500m and ban on dumping] [] [|Australia lobbying to stop Great Barrier Reef making 'in danger' list] [|Six ways Australia is selectively reporting to the UN on the Great Barrier Reef] [|deep_time_aboriginal_stories_tell_of_when_the_great_barrier_reef_was_dry_land] [|great-barrier-reef-faces-prospect-of-unesco-in-danger-listing-unless-government-delivers-improvements] [|have-mining-job-figures-been-inflated-to-justify-reef-destruction] [|six-things-queenslands-next-government-must-do-to-save-the-great-barrier-reef] [|Julie Bishop steps up lobbying to stop Great Barrier Reef being listed 'in danger'] - [|@olliemilman] [|Great Barrier Reef threatened by Queensland plan to let miners take billions of litres of groundwater, says Marine Park Authority] [|Abbot Point coal development progresses, but banks back away from the project amid environmental concerns] - [|@jstorycarter] [|@RNBushTele] [|New committee members to advise on Reef tourism] [|Great Barrier Reef: 'a massive chemistry experiment gone wrong'] [|Protectors of Great Barrier Reef cut] [|Great Barrier Reef dredge approval was ‘suicide’ for reef authority] [] [|Crown of Thorns is a symptom of reef decline: let’s address the cause] - [|@ProfTerryHughes] [] https://mcevansresearch.wordpress.com/2014/08/21/gina-vs-the-reef-a-plea-for-informed-debate-on-biodiversity-offsets - [|@megcevans] [|Great Barrier Reef: Senate inquiry calls for halt to sediment dumping] [|@olliemilman] [|Abbot Point dredging debate needs to be reopened: experts] [|Consortium scraps plans to dump waste in Great Barrier Reef] - @JoannaEHeath [|Great Barrier Reef spared dredge spoil as Dawson MP George Christensen changes line] - [|@tsv_bulletin] [|Criticism over Great Barrier Reef deals for Gina Rinehart's mining company] - [|@olliemilman] [|Government scientists 'warned against dumping' in Great Barrier Reef park] - [|@olliemilman] [|Great Barrier Reef will deteriorate further after decision to dump spoil from Abbot Point, former marine park official says] [|Cumulative impacts and the Great Barrier Reef Strategic Assessment] - [|@AlanaMGrech] [|Reef condition is ‘poor’, and probably worse than healthcheck suggests] - [|@ProfTerryHughes] [|The state of the Great Barrier Reef: experts respond] [|Environment minister Greg Hunt: Carmichael mine] [] [|senate-inquiry-probes-great-barrier-reef] [|Great Barrier Reef impact from dredging could cost ‘as much as $1bn’] [|Great Barrier Reef dredging modelling for Abbot Point coal terminal 'flawed': Federal Government agency] [|Great Barrier Reef authority approved marina ‘despite serious concerns’] [] [] [] [] [] [|Deutsche Bank mag Korallen] [|Deutsche Bank rules out funding for controversial Abbot Point coal terminal] [|Galilee coal hit as Deutsche pulls Abbot point] [|Tourism industry group launches legal fight over dredge spoil dumping] [|The Great Barrier Reef: a battle with no end] [] [] [] [] [|Great Barrier Reef faced with irreversible damage] [] [] [|Green group fights sand dump permit near Australia's Barrier Reef] [|A reef already under stress] - [|@joelwerner] [|Great Barrier Reef not in danger, says government report to United Nations] [|Australia: Tourism operators may sue Barrier Reef body over dumping approval] [|Great Barrier Reef decision is a U-turn to an inglorious past]

https://www.climatecouncil.org.au/uploads/e3449c5187f7100528cc90c380993381.pdf AUSTRALIA’S CORAL REEFS UNDER THREAT FROM CLIMATE CHANGE @climatecouncil
 * https://www.climatecouncil.org.au/reefreport

Australia’s Coral Reefs under Threat from Climate Change by Lesley Hughes, Will Ste en and Martin Rice (Climate Council of Australia). Published by the Climate Council of Australia Limited ISBN: 978-0-9945973-0-4 (print) 978-0-9944926-9-2 (web) © Climate Council of Australia Ltd 2016 This work is copyright the Climate Council of Australia Ltd. All material contained in this work is copyright the Climate Council of Australia Ltd except where a third party source is indicated. Climate Council of Australia Ltd copyright material is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Australia License. To view a copy of this license visit http://creativecommons.org.au You are free to copy, communicate and adapt the Climate Council of Australia Ltd copyright material so long as you attribute the Climate Council of Australia Ltd and the authors in the following manner:

Permission to use third party copyright content in this publication can be sought from the relevant third party copyright owner/s. The authors contain sole responsibility for the contents of this report. — Image credit: Cover photo ‘Turtle at Heron Island’ by XL Catlin Seaview Survey. This report is printed on 100% recycled paper. || media type="custom" key="28509967" ||

Excerpts from Deleted Great Barrier Reef text from UNESCO report on World Heritage Sites @AdamCMarkham http://blog.ucsusa.org/adam-markham/australias-iconic-great-barrier-reef-world-heritage-site-at-risk-from-global-warming

The Great Barrier Reef is now one of the world’s most important coastal and marine tourism areas, but its future is at risk, and climate change is the primary long-term threat.

A World Heritage site since 1981, the Great Barrier Reef is one of the world’s most complex and diverse ecosystems, with at least 400 species of hard coral, 150 species of soft corals and sea fans, and more than 2,900 individual reefs and some of the most important seagrass meadows in the world. It teems with marine life of all sorts, including more than 1600 fish species, seabirds, seahorses, whales, dolphins, crocodiles, dugongs and endangered green turtles. The reef extends for 2,300km along the coast of Queensland in Northeast Australia and has evolved over a period of 15,000 years. The region is important for the indigenous heritage of First Australians who are Traditional Owners including Aboriginal and Torres Straits Islander people. Climate change threatens hunting and fishing as well as other traditional and cultural practices. Some sacred sites are also at risk for the more than 70 Traditional Owner groups for whom natural resources are inseparable from cultural identity.

Tourism is an important economic driver Today, tourism (including touring, diving, beaches, sailing, fishing and cruising) is the most important economic sector in the GBR communities, contributing $5.2 billion dollars to the Australian economy in 2012 and supporting 64,000 jobs, or about 90% of the total economic activity in the region. Visitors spent nearly 43 million total nights in the GBR region in 2012, of which nearly 2 million nights were on the reef, mainly at Cairns and the Whitsunday Islands. Direct reef-related tourism alone contributes 4,800 jobs. Approximately 500 commercial boats operate bringing tourists out to dive and snorkel on the reef, and there can be negative impacts associated with this, including damage from fuel spills and walking and dropping anchors on fragile corals. Tourism infrastructure, along with other coastal developments, can cause habitat degradation and damaging pollution and sediment run-off. Australia is the world’s fourth largest coal producer and debate currently swirls around the risks embodied in plans to expand coal mining and coal shipping near the Great Barrier Reef.

Higher temperatures and ocean acidification threaten reefs
The biggest threat to the GBR today, and to its ecosystems services, biodiversity, heritage values and tourism economy, is climate change, including warming sea temperatures, accelerating rates of sea level rise, changing weather patterns and ocean acidification. Coral reefs worldwide are being directly impacted by warming waters and ocean acidification, and climate change is exacerbating other localized stresses. Ocean acidification is occurring because of increased levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. A significant portion of this CO2 is being absorbed by the oceans and the resulting increases in seawater acidity reduces the capacity of some marine life, such as corals, to build their calcium carbonate based skeletons. Significant drops in coral growth rate have been recorded in the last two decades for massive Porites corals on the Great Barrier Reef.

Worst ever coral bleaching
Other significant threats to the reef include coastal development, agricultural run-off pollution, port-based shipping activities, illegal fishing and outbreaks of the coral-eating crown-of-thorns starfish. Assailed by multiple threats, the status of the GBR has been assessed as being poor and deteriorating. Half of its coral cover has been lost over the last three decades. Unusually high sea temperatures have caused nine mass coral bleaching events on the GBR since 1979, and until this year, the worst had been in 1998 and 2002 (Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority 2012, Steffen et al 2009, Hughes et al 2015). But higher water temperatures and a severe El Nino have been pushing corals into the danger zone all over the world in 2015-16, and the Great Barrier Reef is currently suffering the most severe bleaching episode ever recorded. Coral bleaching occurs when higher than usual maximum temperatures disrupt the relationship between corals and the photosynthetic zooxanthelae algae that live in their tissues in a vital and mutually beneficial biological relationship. Bleaching can kill corals, but depending on the severity of the impact and local factors they can also recover. The same is true for coral damage from storms, but damaged or bleached corals and reefs need time to recover. All indications are that bleaching events will become more frequent and tropical storms more intense with continued global warming, and that this combined with a continued trend in warming water and ocean acidification will be massively detrimental to the GBR. The current bleaching episode has affected more than 90% of the reef, with the worst damage being in the northern region where surveys have confirmed 50% mortality in some places. Without global efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions coupled with local management responses to increase resilience, current projections suggest that coral cover could decline to 5-10% of the GBR by the early 2020s from 28% in 1985—a potential loss of 80% in just 40 years. Similar fears are associated with one of the other keystone ecosystems of the GBR, seagrass meadows representing 20% of the world’s 72 seagrass species. These shallow-water habitats provide vital nursery areas for fish and shrimps, critical food resources for turtles and dugongs, and act as carbon sinks, sequestering organic carbon in marine sediments. The combination of agricultural runoff, fishery impacts and climate change may exceed seagrass beds’ natural abilityto adapt. Sea turtles too are at risk from climate change as high temperatures and sea level rise impact their breeding and nesting beaches.

A need for action
Spurred by the direct evidence of climate change already impacting the GBR, degradation of the reefs and the likelihood of much worse to come, the Australian government has begun to plan and implement actions to reduce the risk of future damage. At the core of the adaptation strategy are efforts to build ecosystem resilience, fill gaps in scientific knowledge, and monitor environmental, social and economic impacts of climate change. Collaborative management strategies are also being developed and tested with local communities, Traditional Owners, as well as with business and industry. The GBR was also the first World Heritage property for which a comprehensive Tourism and Climate Change Action Strategy was developed. The strategy recognizes the vital importance that a healthy GBR ecosystem plays for the Australian economy and that the tourism industry must quickly come to grips with the problem. Recommended actions include reducing direct impacts and greenhouse gas emissions from tourism companies operating on or near the reef; increased training and awareness for guides and operators; helping to raise public understanding of the threat, and; supporting scientific research and monitoring activities. The plan also calls for the industry itself to plan adaptive responses for declining reef conditions and to contribute to risk management strategies for climate disasters. Despite these measures, international concern has continued to grow, however, that without a comprehensive response more in keeping with the scale of the threat, the GBR’s extraordinary biodiversity and natural beauty may lose its World Heritage values. The World Conservation Outlook 2014 published by IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) assessed the status of the World Heritage values of the GBR as of “high concern” and experiencing a deteriorating trend. The most recent strategy from the Australian government, the Reef 2050 Long-term Sustainability plan addressed this issue head on and has been designed to “ensure the Great Barrier Reef continues to improve on its Outstanding Universal Value every decade between now and 2050 to be a natural wonder for each successive generation to come”.

Report Card
http://www.reefplan.qld.gov.au/measuring-success/report-cards/2014

Expert Panel (2015)
http://www.environment.gov.au/minister/hunt/2015/mr20150627.html the Federal Government is appointing an Independent Expert Panel to provide scientific advice on Reef priorities and actions. The Panel will be chaired by Australia's Chief Scientist, Professor Ian Chubb, and will include leading Australian scientists from a variety of scientific disciplines. The Panel will help provide critical advice on the implementation of our Reef 2050 Long Term Sustainability Plan and ensure we are using our resources to the best possible effect. Reef 2050 is the most comprehensive plan ever developed to secure the health and resilience of the Great Barrier Reef for generations to come. The Independent Expert Panel members include:
 * Prof. Ian Chubb (Chair)
 * Assoc. Prof. Eva Abal
 * Dr Andrew Ash
 * Dr Mike Bell
 * Dr Damien Burrows
 * Prof. Bill Dennison
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 11.3599996566772px;">Dr Geoff Garrett
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 11.3599996566772px;">Dr Stefan Hajkowicz
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 11.3599996566772px;">Prof. Ove Hoegh-Guldberg
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 11.3599996566772px;">Prof. Terry Hughes
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 11.3599996566772px;">Prof. Helene Marsh
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 11.3599996566772px;">Dr Russell Reichelt
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 11.3599996566772px;">Dr Britta Schaffelke
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 11.3599996566772px;">Dr Roger Shaw
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 11.3599996566772px;">Assoc. Prof. Stephan Schnierer
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 11.3599996566772px;">Prof. Natalie Stoeckl

2050 Long-Term Sustainability Plan
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/may/25/great-barrier-reef-2050-plan-no-longer-achievable-due-to-climate-change-experts-say - [] http://theconversation.com/government-unveils-2050-great-barrier-reef-plan-experts-react-39172 http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/australiaandthepacific/australia/11487572/Australia-unveils-35-year-plan-to-save-Great-Barrier-Reef.html [|Great Barrier Reef: Government to release Reef 2050 Long-Term Sustainability Plan] [|Greens call for public release of submissions for 35-year Great Barrier Reef plan] [|Scientific academy slams government's Great Barrier Reef plan] [|Academy of Science dismisses Great Barrier Reef protection plan] [|Government plan won’t save Great Barrier Reef: Academy] - [|@Science_Academy] [|Australian Academy of Science response to 2050 Long-term Sustainability Plan] (PDF) - [|@Science_Academy] [|Scientific body slams Government's reef restoration plan]

2015 News
WOW! Great news - For the 1st time, Queensland has a MINISTER for the [|#GreatBarrierReef] [|@StevenJMiles]

Ampto [] [] []

Great Barrier Reef Foundation
http://www.barrierreef.org http://www.themorningbulletin.com.au/news/reef-chief-rejects-conflicts-concern/2683454

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[|@gbrmarinepark] [|@Parks_Australia] [|@ProfTerryHughes] [|@StevenJMiles] [|@fightforthereef] [|@TropWATER] [|@AlanaMGrech] [|@GChristensenMP] [|@larissawaters] [|@reefhqaquarium]

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Wikipedia
[|Great_Barrier_Reef_Marine_Park]

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 * World Parks Congress**

This hangout will feature world-class marine scientists who will talk about their research and work on the Great Barrier Reef. Particularly, experts will discuss the 2004 rezoning of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park and its success (both expected and unexpected), 10 years in the making.
 * Google+ Hangout**
 * November 18** [|The Great Barrier Reef: What Works]

The [|IUCN World Parks Congress - Sydney, November 2014] is coming up and in support of our Ocean Parks and Marine Protected Areas we are hosting a series of Google Hangouts on Air surrounding ocean issues with participants live, on the ground in Sydney, Australia.

In 2004, highly-protected no-take areas on the Reef increased from five to 33 per cent of the area. In these areas fishing and other extractive activities are not allowed. This integrated zoning protects corals, fishes and a range of important habitats such as seagrasses beds, deep water sponge gardens and shoals. Guests of the hangout will take you through a fascinating journey involving DNA tracking, shark sizes, navigating politics and fish larvae voyages.

Guests Include: <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #404040; font-family: Roboto,arial,sans-serif; font-size: 13.3333330154419px;">Dr. David Wachenfeld, Director, Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA) <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #404040; font-family: Roboto,arial,sans-serif; font-size: 13.3333330154419px;">Dr David Williamson, James Cook University (fisheries expert) <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #404040; font-family: Roboto,arial,sans-serif; font-size: 13.3333330154419px;">Professor Bette Willis, Personal Chair in Marine Biology, James Cook University (coral disease expert) <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #404040; font-family: Roboto,arial,sans-serif; font-size: 13.3333330154419px;">Professor Colin Simpfendorfer, James Cook University (shark expert) <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #404040; font-family: Roboto,arial,sans-serif; font-size: 13.3333330154419px;">Professor Terry Hughes FAA, Australian Laureate Fellow, James Cook University (coral reef expert) <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #404040; font-family: Roboto,arial,sans-serif; font-size: 13.3333330154419px;">Moderated by <span class="proflinkPrefix" style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #262626; font-family: Roboto,arial,sans-serif; font-size: 13.3333330154419px;">+ <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #262626; font-family: Roboto,arial,sans-serif; font-size: 13.3333330154419px;">[|Andrew Kornblatt] <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #404040; font-family: Roboto,arial,sans-serif; font-size: 13.3333330154419px;"> of the <span class="proflinkPrefix" style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #262626; font-family: Roboto,arial,sans-serif; font-size: 13.3333330154419px;">+ <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #262626; font-family: Roboto,arial,sans-serif; font-size: 13.3333330154419px;">[|Online Ocean Symposium]

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Reports
[|A vulnerability assessment for the Great Barrier Reef: Dugongs] [|Great Barrier Reef Long-Term Sustainability Plan] [|September 2014 Senate Report] (PDF) [|2014 State Party Report on the state of conservation of the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area] [|great-barrier-reef-outlook-report]

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The Social and Economic Long-Term Monitoring Program (SELTMP) for the Great Barrier Reef http://eatlas.org.au/seltmp http://csironewsblog.com/2014/11/17/latest-findings-about-the-faces-of-the-great-barrier-reef/

Senate Report

On 25 March 2014, the Senate referred the following matter to the Environment and Communications References Committee for inquiry and report. The adequacy of the Australian and Queensland Governments’ efforts to stop the rapid decline of the Great Barrier Reef, including but not limited to:
 * 1) management of the impacts of industrialisation of the reef coastline, including dredging, offshore dumping, and industrial shipping, in particular, but not limited to, current and proposed development in the following regions or locations:
 * 2) Gladstone Harbour and Curtis Island,
 * 3) Abbot Point,
 * 4) Fitzroy Delta, and
 * 5) Cape Melville and Bathurst Bay;

Submissions should be received by 2 June 2014. The reporting date is 25 June 2014.
 * 1) management of the impacts of agricultural runoff;
 * 2) management of non-agricultural activities within reef catchments impacting on the reef, including legacy mines, current mining activities and practices, residential and tourism developments, and industrial operations including Yabulu;
 * 3) ensuring the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority has the independence, resourcing and capacity to act in the best interest of the long-term health of the reef;
 * 4) the adequacy, timeliness and transparency of independent scientific work undertaken to support government decisions impacting the reef;
 * 5) whether government decision processes impacting the reef are consistent with the precautionary principle;
 * 6) whether the strategic assessments currently underway are likely to protect the reef from further decline;
 * 7) the identification and protection of off-limits areas on the reef coastline to help protect the health of the reef;
 * 8) consistency of efforts with the World Heritage Committee’s recommendations on what is required to protect the reef;
 * 9) the extent to which government decisions impacting the reef, including development of the strategic assessments and Reef 2050 Plan, involve genuine, open and transparent consultation with the Australian community, affected industries and relevant scientific experts, and genuine consideration of the broader community’s views in final decisions; and
 * 10) any other related matters.
 * [|View All Submissions]

2014
[|Decision on status of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef deferred until 2015 - UNESCO] Livestreaming: []
 * June 15 - 25** [|World Heritage Committee] in Doha, Qatar. Details

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Elsewhere on the Web
[|Association of Marine Park Tour Operators (AMPTO)] [] [] - [|@fightforthereef] [|Reef HQ Great Barrier Reef Aquarium] - [|@reefhqaquarium] http://www.gbrmpa.gov.au/visit-the-reef/choose-a-high-standard-operator/high-standard-tourism-operation []

Whitsunday
[|Whitsunday Chartered Boat Industry Association] https://www.tourismwhitsundays.com.au https://www.tourismwhitsundays.com.au/whitsunday-tourism-awards

News from Queensland
[|https://www.qrc.org.au/01_cms/details.asp?ID=3444#.U37YzHZwSz8] > download brochure and map [|More »] > Abbot Point dredging program in perspective More »
 * [|Working alongside the Great Barrier Reef]
 * [|Infomercial]

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World Heritage
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Recommended Viewing
[|Battle for the Reef] - The Great Barrier Reef battle from [|Four Corners]. Testing claims the Reef is at risk, and should be on the "in danger" list.

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Recommended Listening
<span style="color: #111111; font-family: Calibre,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 20px;"> [|Protecting the Great Barrier Reef] - This year, the Great Barrier Reef has been hit by the most severe coral bleaching event on record, with climate change causing an increase in ocean temperatures. This has compounded existing strains on the reef with poor water quality, increasing industrial development, unsustainable fishing practices and other pressures causing a decline in corals and other marine animals. <span style="background-color: #f3f3f3; display: block; font-family: Cassia,Georgia; font-size: 12.9613px;"> [|Iain McCalman] - How this vast coral country turned from a place of tragedy and horror, to a thing of wonder.

[|Rivers of red threaten the future of the reef] (August 2015) - It's going to take the reinvention of 10,000 farms to improve water quality and repair the Great Barrier Reef, and there's new evidence that sediment from farms producing Australia's favourite fruit—bananas—is a growing part of the problem. The bold plan to fix the reef will cost billions but is already facing funding cuts.

[|The state of the Reef] (August 2015) - Dive beneath the waves and explore gardens of coral on the Great Barrier Reef—can our efforts to protect it save it from climate change?

[|New report finds government response to Great Barrier Reef inadequate] (April 2014) - The Federal Government recently unveiled its long term plan for the Great Barrier Reef, hoping to avert a United Nations declaration that the natural wonder is in danger.

[|Fishermen relieved reef dumping could be scrapped] - North Queensland fishermen say they're relieved a plan to dump dredge waste in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park may not go ahead.

[|The spawning of reef conservation] - One small public notice stating the intention to mine Ellison Reef was the seed from which the 'Save the Barrier Reef' campaign was spawned.

[|The Abbot Point gamble] - On the doorstep of the Great Barrier Reef, Abbot Point is set to become one of the world's biggest coal ports. However the yet-to-be-developed coal mines it is being created to service look increasingly unviable. Jess Hill investigates the economic challenges and environmental risks surrounding the project.

[|Global financial campaign against Abbot Point gains momentum]

[|Castaway] - Stories of shipwreck, rescue and some extraordinary friendships that developed in the 19th century between European castaways and their Indigenous rescuers along the Great Barrier Reef.

https://soundcloud.com/612abcbrisbane/the-great-barrier-reef

Google Street Views
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Misc
On January 1, 2010, Queensland's coral reefs will have a new level of protection. Farmers will have to follow more stringent regulations to reduce pesticide and nutrient run-off into waterways, which either directly or eventually feed into the Great Barrier Reef. The Queensland State Government wants to reduce water pollution levels by 50 percent to help coral survive. Sugarcane farmers and graziers between Mackay and Cape Tribulation have been targetted as part of these new regulations. []

http://techcrunch.com/2012/09/25/google-maps-goes-diving-provides-seaview-of-great-barrier-reef-hawaii-and-philippines

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http://google-latlong.blogspot.mx/2012/09/dive-into-great-barrier-reef-with-first.html [|The industrialisation of the Great Barrier Reef]

[|FORUM ON THE GREAT BARRIER REEF]

Can coral reefs survive the 21st century? The Great Barrier Reef and the other great coral reefs are the largest living structures on the planet and are amongst the world's most diverse ecosystems. However, scientists studying coral reefs say up to one-fifth of the world's reefs have already been destroyed.
 * [|Listen]
 * [|Download]
 * [|Video of the forum]

http://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Environment_and_Communications/Great_Barrier_Reef

Abell Point
http://abellpointmarina.com.au http://www.expedia.com/Abell-Point-Marina-Hotels.0-l6141868-0.Travel-Guide-Filter-Hotels

http://abellpointmarina.com.au/dredging-project-commences http://www.dredgingtoday.com/2014/07/15/dredging-starts-at-abell-point-marina/dredging-starts-at-abell-point-marina
 * Dredging**

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Great Keppel Island
[|Tower Holdings seeks partner for Great Keppel resort] [|Great Barrier Reef authority approved marina ‘despite serious concerns’] http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/great-keppel-island-in-for-600-million-makeover/story-e6freoof-1226589076482 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Keppel_Island

News
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Misc Marine tourism is a minimal impact industry committed to sustainable practices to ensure the future of the reef.

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World Heritage The Great Barrier Reef was the first coral reef ecosystem in the world to receive World Heritage status and was also one of Australia's first such places, achieving this status at the same time as Kakadu National Park and the Willandra Lakes region.

Diversity 3,000 coral reefs 1,050 islands More than 16,00 species of fish and 133 species of sharks and rays

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Adani

Reef Facts
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Background information (http://www.environment.gov.au/minister/hunt/2014/mr20141026.html)
<span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 11px;">The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park stretches approximately 2300 km along the coast of Queensland- this is about the same length as the west coast of North America from Vancouver to the US/Mexico border. <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 11px;">Covering 348,000 square kilometres, about the same size as Italy. <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 11px;">Today, the Great Barrier Reef is one of the world's best managed natural wonders. It attracts more than 1.9 million visitors each year, contributes more than $5.6 billion to the Australian economy and generates 69,000 jobs. <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 11px;">The extraordinary biological diversity within the Great Barrier Reef includes: <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 11px;">There are about 70 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Traditional Owner clan groups that maintain heritage values for their land and sea country. Their connection with the Great Barrier Reef goes back tens of thousands of years when much of the region was above sea level and occupied by past generations of Traditional Owners.
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 11px;">six of the world's seven species of marine turtle
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 11px;">the largest green turtle breeding area in the world
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 11px;">one of the world's most important dugong populations (about 14,000 dugong)
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 11px;">more than 43,000 square kilometres of seagrass meadows, including 23 per cent of the known global species diversity
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 11px;">some 3000 coral reefs built from more than 450 species of hard coral
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 11px;">more than one-third of all the world's soft coral and sea pen species (150 species)
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 11px;">630 species of echinoderms, including 13 per cent of the known global species diversity
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 11px;">2000 species of sponges representing 30 per cent of Australia's diversity in sponges
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 11px;">more than 3000 species of molluscs, including 2500 species of gastropods
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 11px;">a breeding area for humpback whales and some 30 other species of whales and dolphins
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 11px;">14 breeding species of sea snakes, including 20 per cent of the known global species diversity.

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Embedded Tweets
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Videos
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Photos
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Artwork

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http://www.marineencounters.com.au https://www.facebook.com/MarineEncounters

Great Barrier Reef Hangout
Time/Date to be confirmed. Preferably 4-6pm Las Vegas, 9-11am Townsville (what day / hour works best?)

This is a conversation about the current status and future of the Great Barrier Reef. Our hangout asks what visitors should know and how locals are engaged. We addresses the headline news of coral bleaching and other timely topics. Questions are welcome before and during the hangout.
 * Topic: Status Report and Future of the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Site**

[|#WildOz][|#COP13] Q: [|#Tourism] v [|#Coalmines],:what should we know about the [|#GreatBarrierReef]? [|@COP13MX][|@ProfTerryHughes] https://twitter.com/ronmader/status/805221873587884032 https://twitter.com/ProfTerryHughes/status/805170607734128640

Buzzword Bingo
Biodiversity Coral Bleaching Ocean Queensland Reef Townsville https://www.dropbox.com/sh/e7ilc8if4mka68g/AAC3CqrKW7UKJGTk__cdOgZfa?dl=0a__

__Images of the Reef__ __High resolution images and videos of the 2016 Great Barrier Reef coral bleaching aerial surveys are available for use: https://goo.gl/tqELGR. All photos and videos must be credited: ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, unless specified otherwise.__ __https://www.dropbox.com/sh/e7ilc8if4mka68g/AAC3CqrKW7UKJGTk__cdOgZfa?dl=0