The Great Barrier Reef is the world’s largest coral reef ecosystem, stretching across 344,400 square kilometers of the Coral Sea off the coast of Queensland in northern Australia. In 1970 public protests led to a Royal Commission and the prohibition of oil drilling in the region. Since then pollution caused by shipping traffic and oil spills have continued to cause serious damage to the corals. Climate change is expected to pose the most severe threat to the future of the Great Barrier Reef.
Themes:
Regions:
Further Readings:
- Bowen, James, and Margarita Bowen. The Great Barrier Reef: History, Science, Heritage. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002.
- Woodford, J. “The Great Barrier Reef.” Australian Geographic 76 (2004): 37-55.
Day:
0
Month:
0
Year:
1967