Do you need this or any other assignment done for you from scratch?
We have qualified writers to help you.
We assure you a quality paper that is 100% free from plagiarism and AI.
You can choose either format of your choice ( Apa, Mla, Havard, Chicago, or any other)
NB: We do not resell your papers. Upon ordering, we do an original paper exclusively for you.
NB: All your data is kept safe from the public.
Introduction
The Great Barrier Reef is located along the Queensland coastline. It encompasses 2,900 reefs and stretches for 345,000 square kilometers making it the largest Reef in the World. It is important to protect this Reef since it contains a variety of different types of marine species and birds. It is documented that the Reef is home to 1,500 species o fish, 175 species of birds. Moreover, it has 30 species of marine mammals, a small population of threatened marine turtles, and 359 types of hard coral. (WWF Australia 2008). It is important to protect the Reef since it is estimated that more than two million people visit the site each year. It, therefore, contributes to the Australian economy by bringing in more than 2 billion Australian dollars. (Culture. Gov. AU 2008).
Challenges
On discussion, this paper is mainly going to concentrate on the challenges that are threatening the Great Barrier Reef. One of the major challenges that are facing is the decline in the water levels. It has been estimated that the water level in this region has declined by more than 50%. Apart from water decline, there has also been a decrease in the water quality around this region mainly due to the farming activities that are carried on around this region. Water runoff from the farms is the major cause of this. This runoff contains chemicals from the pesticides and the fertilizers used in the farms. Furthermore, these farming activities have been causing overgrazing which has also impacted this Great Barrier Reef. Another problem is the bleaching of the coral reef that is caused by global warming. There are also concerns of Overfishing, in itself, is a human activity that if not checked will destroy marine life. Collisions involving big ships in the Great Barrier Reef have resulted in accidents. Because of these accidents, hazardous wastes are deposited into the sea. In simple terms, this hazardous waste interferes with the normal biological life of the sea.
The daily human endeavors have been causing climate change brought about by global warming. The pollution has resulted in the emission of greenhouse gases that have resulted in global warming. To protect the environment human population has to use the resources available at the Great Barrier Reef sustainably to prevent further depletion and environmental degradation.
Discussion
Although Tourism has been considered to be a major foreign exchange earner in this region, it has also been known to cause environmental threats in this region. Tourists for instance kill coral by stepping on the sand and throwing rubbish into the reef hence causing the death of the Coral Reef. ( Sydenham, S. & Thomas, R. 2008). Despite this shortcoming of tourism it has remained to be lucrative generating billions of money. As much as tourism remains to be a moneymaker its management is geared towards ecological sustainability. For sustainable tourism to be maintained industries and management agencies have gone a step ahead to educate the tourists and staff as part of a planned programmed to promote understanding of environmental issues. (Harriott, VickiJ 2008).
To protect the Great Barrier Reef the administration has put in place several policies to protect this region. A case in point is the Memorandum of understanding that was reached by both the Australian and the Queensland Governments to develop what was known as Reef Water Quality protection plan to prevent pollution from destroying the Reef. In this plan, A panel of scientists was to advise on the quality of waste. There was also the Great Barrier Reef. Marine Park zoning plan was put into effect in 2004. This plan was meant to protect the region from fishing to preserve a healthy ecosystem. (WWFAustralia 2008).
In conclusion, the management of the Great Barrier Reef promotes tourism but at the same time maintains ecologically sound activities.
References
Dianne Dredge, John Jenkins. Tourism Planning and Policy. Wiley.
Great Barrier Reef 30th 2007. Web.
Great Barrier Reef 2008. Web.
Harriott, Vicki J. Marine Tourism Impacts On The Great Barrier Reef. 2008. Web.
Reef Water Quality Protection Plan. 2008. Web.
Sydenham, S. & Thomas, R. Australia’s Great Barrier Reef 2008. Web.
Do you need this or any other assignment done for you from scratch?
We have qualified writers to help you.
We assure you a quality paper that is 100% free from plagiarism and AI.
You can choose either format of your choice ( Apa, Mla, Havard, Chicago, or any other)
NB: We do not resell your papers. Upon ordering, we do an original paper exclusively for you.
NB: All your data is kept safe from the public.