Regardless the Unesco spared Great Barrier Reef ‘in danger listing’, the Australian government presented a 35-year program to manage risks to the reef. A report in 2012 from the cited government showed that the reef had lost over half of its coral in less than thirty years!; and it is under growing threats. This is why this program includes monitoring population and breeding, refining water quality and establishing goals for reducing chemicals that end up in the reef coming from a close Marine park.

However, these are not the only threats the reef is experiencing. Human threats are the most hazardous and powerful dangers and include shipping accidents, oil spills, over-fishing (as studied in module 7) and tourist visits among many others. Also, natural threats like coral bleaching and the Crown of Thorns Starfish have huge destructive force on. The increase in water temperature impacts on coral bleaching and affects catastrophically the reef, which can become practically extinct by 2030. This temperature raising is associated with El Nino, which is considered the most powerful control on weather across the planet.

References:

• Robertson, J. (2015, July 01). Unesco spares Great Barrier Reef ‘in-danger’ listing but issues warning. Retrieved March 15, 2016, from http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/jul/01/great-barrier-reef-spared-unesco-in-danger-listing-un
• Threats to the Great Barrier Reef. (n.d.). Retrieved March 15, 2016, from http://www.greatbarrierreef.com.au/information/great-barrier-reef-threats/