Great Barrier Reef : AUSTRALIA/ PAPUA NEW GUINEA
The Great Barrier Reef is the planet’s largest coral reef system, with some 3,000 individual reefs and 900 islands stretching for 2,600 km over an area of approximately 344,400 square km. It is the biggest single structure made by living creatures and can be seen from outer space. The Great Barrier Reef is the only living organic collective visible from Earth's orbit. The Great Barrier Reef, off the east coast of Australia, is one of the wonders of the natural world - it is the world's largest coral reef ecosystem. It was declared a World Heritage area in 1981 and added to the National Heritage List in 2007. The reef is scattered with beautiful islands and idyllic coral cays and covers more than 300,000 square kilometres. The Great Barrier Reef system consists of more than 3000 reefs which range in size from 1 hectare to over 10,000 hectares in area. Dunk Island is one of more than 600 islands of the Great Barrier Reef. Human activity in the Reef areas has led to increased pollutants and the reef has suffered damage. Protecting the Reef is the responsibility of the Marine Park Authority. In 2003, the previous Australian Government and Queensland Governments, in partnership with a wide range of industry and community groups, developed the Reef Water Quality Protection Reef Plan (the Reef Plan) as a combined effort to protect the Reef. Of particular concern is wetlands - which have decreased by over 50 per cent since European settlement. The Great Barrier Reef Coastal Wetlands Protection Program is developing measures for the long term conservation and management of priority wetlands. Great Barrier Reef Tours - Book your adventure on the reef right now! Welcome to the ultimate travel guide and reservations centre for Tropical North Queensland and the Great Barrier Reef. Hotel & Resort Accommodation - Instant quotes on all Tropical North Queensland properties! The Great Barrier Reef Visitors Bureau provides you with one easy booking centre for all of your extensive itinerary planning, including resort & hotel accommodation, tours & cruises, dive trips and car rentals - just one enquiry does it all.... and our service is FREE with no hidden fees or handling charges. Great Barrier Reef Cruises - Sail away the days on crystal clear waters... Tropical North Queensland is all about lifestyle (just ask the locals) and with the range of activities available, we can certainly help you out with a reef day trip, a diving holiday, the ultimate fishing adventure, or just a bit of fun filled sightseeing.
The Great Barrier Reef Visitors Bureau also has available a comprehensive selection of support information for the use of the intending traveller. This section contains, maps and weather information, and links to other holiday destinations like Port Douglas accommodation. Travel information such as visa application procedures, and visitor information including local banking, currency conversion, medical and emergency information, are also presented. This site contains a wealth of holiday information on, Cairns hotels, The Daintree Rainforest, Palm Cove accommodation, Cape York, Cooktown and Cape Tribulation. For an island alternative to the Great Barrier Reef that still allows snorkelling and diving on ocean reefs - experience Fiji holidays - full of beach fun and relaxation. For a huge range of Fiji resorts and bures right on the beach visit our site today. One of Australia's most remarkable natural gifts, the Great Barrier Reef is blessed with the breathtaking beauty of the world's largest coral reef. The reef contains an abundance of marine life and comprises of over 3000 individual reef systems and coral cays and literally hundreds of picturesque tropical islands with some of the worlds most beautiful sun-soaked, golden beaches. The Great Barrier Reef is one of the seven wonders of the natural world, and pulling away from it, and viewing it from a greater distance, you can understand why. It is larger than the Great Wall of China and the only living thing on earth visible from space. Discover more about Australia's greatest natural wonder, the Great Barrier Reef. The most significant threat to the Great Barrier Reef is climate change. Mass coral bleaching events due to rising ocean temperatures occurred in of the summers of 1998, 2002 and 2006, and coral bleaching will likely become an annual occurrence. Climate change has implications for other forms of life on the Great Barrier Reef as well - some fish's preferred temperature range lead them to seek new areas to live, thus causing chick mortality in seabirds that prey on the fish. Climate change will also affect the population and available habitat of sea turtles. Another key threat faced by the Great Barrier Reef is pollution and declining water quality. The rivers of north eastern Australia provide significant pollution of the Reef during tropical flood events with over 90% of this pollution being sourced from farms. Farm run-off is polluted as a result of overgrazing and excessive fertiliser and pesticide use. Due to the range of human uses made of the water catchment area adjacent to the Great Barrier Reef, water quality has declined owing to the sediment and chemical runoff from farming, and to loss of coastal wetlands which are a natural filter. It is thought that the mechanism behind poor water quality affecting the reefs is due to increased light and oxygen competition from algae. The crown-of-thorns starfish is a coral reef predator which preys on coral polyps. Large outbreaks of these starfish can devastate reefs. In 2000, an outbreak contributed to a loss of 66% of live coral cover on sampled reefs in a study by the CRC Reefs Research Centre.Outbreaks are believed to occur in natural cycles, exacerbated by poor water quality and overfishing of the starfish's predators.
The Great Barrier Reef is the largest coral reef system in the world, composed of over 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands stretching for over 3,000 kilometres (1,600 mi) over an area of approximately 344,400 square kilometres (133,000 sq mi). The reef is located in the Coral Sea, off the coast of Queensland in northeast Australia.The Great Barrier Reef can be seen from outer space and is the world's biggest single structure made by living organisms.This reef structure is composed of and built by billions of tiny organisms, known as coral polyps. The Great Barrier Reef supports a wide diversity of life, and was selected as a World Heritage Site in 1981. CNN has labelled it one of the 7 natural wonders of the world. The Queensland National Trust has named it a state icon of Queensland. A large part of the reef is protected by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, which helps to limit the impact of human use, such as overfishing and tourism. Other environmental pressures to the reef and its ecosystem include water quality from runoff, climate change accompanied by mass coral bleaching, and cyclic outbreaks of the crown-of-thorns starfish. The Great Barrier Reef has long been known to and utilised by the Aboriginal Australian and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and is an important part of local groups' cultures and spirituality. The reef is a very popular destination for tourists, especially in the Whitsundays and Cairns regions. Tourism is also an important economic activity for the region. Fishing also occurs in the region, generating AU$ 1 billion per year Due to its vast biodiversity, warm clear waters and its accessibility from the floating guest facilities called 'live aboards', the reef is a very popular destination for tourists, especially scuba divers. Tourism on the Great Barrier Reef is concentrated in the Whitsundays and Cairns due to their accessibility, which make up 7% of the area of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park The Whitsundays and Cairns have their own Plans of Management. Many cities along the Queensland coast offer daily boat trips to the reef. Several continental and coral cay islands have been turned into resorts, including the pristine resort island of Lady Elliot Island. As of 1996, 27 islands on the Great Barrier Reef supported resorts.
