Great Barrier Reef
Saving the reef one coral at a time!
What is it? Why is it unique?
The Great Barrier Reef stretches more than 2000 kilometers along the Queensland coastline. It contains extensive areas of seagrass, mangrove, sandy and muddy seabed communities. There are an estimated 1500 species of fish and over 360 species of hard, reef-building corals. The extensive seagrass beds are an important feeding ground for the dugong, a mammal species internationally listed as vulnerable. It's reef also supports a variety of fleshy algae that are grazed by turtles, fish, and sea urchins. What makes the Great Barrier Reef is so unique because it has the world's seven species of marine turtles, also many indigenous values and traditions are linked to this reef.
Human activities on the Great Barrier Reef and the benefits to people for keeping it healthy
Over-fishing, pollution, and global warming are the human activities that affect the Reef. So far a fifth of the reefs have been destroyed and are not recovering, a quarter of the reefs are endangered and another quarter face long-term collapse. We need to keep the water healthy because they are a critical player in the basic elements we need to survive. Plants produce half of the world's oxygen, then these waters absorb about one-third of human-caused carbon dioxide emissions. Keeping oceans healthy keeps people healthy.
Resorts destroy
Having a resort near the Great Barrier Reef would threaten it because as they are building and constructing the resort, little parts of the material can go into the ocean harming the Reef. Also as more people come to stay at the resort, over-fishing, trash going into the water. Humanity is a threat to nature.