2. 01 - Location
02 - When and why?
03 - Tourism
04 - Curiosities
05- Why is it in danger?
INDEX
3. The Great Barrier Reef, which
extends for over 2,300 kilometers
along the northeastern coast of
Australia, is home to over 9,000
known species.
The Great Barrier Reef consists of
about 3,000 individual reefs of coral.
There are animals you would probably
recognize, such as dolphins, turtles,
crocodiles, and sharks. There are also
venomous sea snakes, and large
algae. These species interact to form a
complex and delicate ecosystem
dependent on the coral reef for
survival.
4. Australia in UNESCO
When it was listed ?
The entire ecosystem was
inscrebed as World
Heritage in 1981
Why it was listed ?
It was listed because it's a
unique natural attributes and
enormous scientific and
envionmental importance
5. Tourism in The Great Barrier Reef
How many tourists go to visit
The Great Barrier Reef?
Approximately 5 million people
visit it each year. According to the
WWF (Wide Fund for Nature),
tourism of the area contributes
$5.4 billion a year to the Australian
economy, and employs
approximately 69.000 people.
Tourists stay in hotels ranging in
price from AUS$206 to AUS$2250
6. Environmental impact of tourism on the Great Barrier Reef. Impacts include physical
damage to reefs and coral from boats, trampling and snorkelling, pollution from
rubbish and human waste.
Curiosities and interesting facts
The Great Barrier Reef is approximately 20 million years old.
Itisestimatedthat10%oftheaquaticworld'sspeciesliveontheBarrierReef.
Coralsareessentialforreefbuilding,asaprotectivehavenformanyspecies.
The Great Barrier Reef is longer than the Great Wall of China!
7. Rising ocean temperatures and changes in ocean chemistry are the most serious
global threats to coral reef ecosystems. These threats are caused by higher
atmospheric temperatures and higher levels of carbon dioxide in seawater. As the
temperature in the atmosphere increases, too
This warming causes corals to lose the tiny algae that produce the food they need,
which is a stressful factor for corals.
Another cause is overfishing and coral harvesting within it.
Why is in danger?