Great Barrier Reef: accept 'in danger' status

Yet last month, the World Heritage Committee of the United Nations organization UNESCO caved to lobbying from the Australian government - pressured by fossil-fuel, agricultural and mining interests - and kept the Great Barrier Reefoff its list of ecosystems 'in danger'. Even the Queensland...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nature (London) 2021-08, Vol.596 (7872), p.319-319
Main Author: Morrison, Tiffany H
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Climate change
Ecosystems
Fossil fuels
Politics
Tourism
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:Yet last month, the World Heritage Committee of the United Nations organization UNESCO caved to lobbying from the Australian government - pressured by fossil-fuel, agricultural and mining interests - and kept the Great Barrier Reefoff its list of ecosystems 'in danger'. Even the Queensland Tourism Industry Council has said keeping the reef's status under the spotlight is a "call to the world to do more on climate change". [...]undercutting the listing undermines the purpose of the World Heritage Committee. Since 1972, 41 ecosystems have been considered for the in-danger list - 27 of them more than once - but not officially inscribed, even though UNESCO and its advisory body had assessed these ecosystems as threatened, or more threatened than those already listed.
ISSN:0028-0836
1476-4687
DOI:10.1038/d41586-021-02220-3