The Greatest Significance Of The Great Barrier Reef

The Great Barrier Reef is one of the seven wonders of the world. It extends more than 1,300 miles through the coral sea off northeastern Australia and it is even visible from outer space. It is also home to more than 400 types of coral and 1,500 species such as the tropical fish, birds, dolphins, and reptiles. The reef is not only home to the coral but it is also breeding ground for humpback whales and a habitat for endangered species. The Great Barrier Reef was listed as a protected site by the World Heritage Trust in 1981 to help maintain it’s beauty allowing for tourists to keep wanting to visit, which greatly affects the economy in Australia and more specifically to keep the marine life alive. However, the reef is undergoing huge†¦show more content†¦Coral bleaching is the next threat that the reef is facing due to climate changes in the water. There are several things people are doing to stop this from continuing like joining groups to help save the reef by educating people about the destruction of the coral reef. They are encouraging the government to put more emphasis on pollution, into the ocean and in the air. They even build artificial reefs to replace the damaged ones. In the following pages I will be going more in depth on how the destruction of the Great Barrier is affecting us as humans, how climate changes is affecting it, and how ocean acidification is destroying it. The destruction of the coral has an impact on the tourism industry. Corals are the main attraction to national parks and if they are destroyed tourism will go down. Tourism is the one of the main things that give profit to the countries who use it as a source of revenue. In 2005-2006 the Great Barrier Reef had an income of 22.716 million dollars, which was less than what it had 2004-2005 by about 1.259 million dollars. If the coral reef becomes extinct, the money and jobs