The Great Barrier Reef: vast, beautiful, under pressure

Abstract

A summary of Great Barrier Reef Marine Park management as at January 2020: The Great Barrier Reef is a global icon and an integral part of Australia’s national identity. The Great Barrier Reef is a vast and spectacular ecosystem and one of the most complex natural systems on Earth. This World Heritage Area with Outstanding Universal Value is an economic powerhouse, contributing $6.4 billion to Australia’s national economy as well as some 64,000 jobs. As the world’s largest coral reef ecosystem, it is bigger in size than Italy, and spans 2300 kilometres of Australia’s north east coast. It comprises almost 3000 individual reefs, about 10 per cent of the world’s coral reefs.