The Great Barrier Reef: Threats, Values, and Conservation

This article explores the threats, values, and conservation of the Great Barrier Reef, one of the world's biggest coral reefs. It discusses the impacts of climate change, pollution, and other factors on the reef's health and biodiversity, as well as the economic and cultural significance of the reef. The article also examines different approaches to valuing the reef and the need for conservation efforts to protect this priceless asset.

Running Head: THE GREAT BARRIER REEF
THE GREAT BARRIER REEF
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The Great Barrier Reef is one of the world’s biggest coral reef, and it is composed of
more than 2900 reefs and approximately 900 islands that stretch for more than 2000 kilometers
over an area of approximately 350,000 square kilometers. The reef is on the coast of Queensland
Australia. The reef is composed of billions of minute organisms commonly known as coral
polyps. A large part of this area is covered by the Great Barrier Reef marine park. The park is
helpful in limiting the impacts of human consumption like in fishing and tourism.
The Great Barrier Reef for a long time has been used by the Australian and the strait
islander people and forms an important part of the culture and spirituality of the people who live
around the place. The reef is an important destination for tourists mostly in Whitsunday islands
and the claims region. Tourism is one of the most important economic activities in Australia.
Research shows that tourism as an economic activity yields AUD 3.1 billion per year. Research
shows that coral bleaching is widely spread and has been affecting the Northern part of the reefs
and the warming temperatures of the ocean have caused this. As a result of high temperatures of
water, there has been an emerging threat of the increase in global climate change (Bennett,
2014).
The reef supports a diversity of lives including the endangered species which in most
cases may be very endemic in the reef system. Cetaceans is an example of a species that was
identified at the Great Barrier Reef, and the species include dwarf minke whale, indo pacific and
also the humpback. An approximate of 1500 species of fish live in these reefs including red
throat emperor, coral trout, and red bass among others. Seventeen snake species live in these
reefs in warm waters of up to 50 meters deep, and they are more common in the southern than in
the northern part of the area. Those found in the Great Barrier Reef are not endangered and are
not endemic too. Saltwater crocodiles live in the mangrove and also the salt marshes near the

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reefs on the coast (ohnson & Marshall, 2015). An approximate of 125 species of sharks dwell in
the reefs together with stingray, skates and even a chimera. The mollusks in these reefs amount
to approximately five thousand species while the frogs that inhabit the islands amount to around
seven thousand species.
At least two hundred and fifteen species of birds’ nest this Great Barrier Reef on the
islands and some of them include white-bellied sea eagle among others. The most nesting sites in
these areas are found on the northern and southern parts, and they use the sites to breed. There
are more than 2000 tree species also supported by this area, and birds mostly propagate the
plants.
Social costs
The Great Barrier Reef is named one of the most significant global icon which is under
much pressure. The most significant risks to the barrier remain unchanged notwithstanding the
right actions that were taken in the year 2009. The most dangerous threats faced by the reef
include climate change, poor quality of water, the d3evelopment of the coast which affects the
inhabitant that support the reef and the illegal fishing that takes place in the area (Furnas, 2014).
There exist cumulative effects of these risks that weaken the resilience of the reef and hence
affect its ability to recover from any serious disturbances. Some of the risks are also discussed
below.
Changes in climate
Climate change is considered to be one of the greatest threats in the Great Barrier Reef.
The latter leads to ocean warming which leads to an increase in coral bleaching. Coral bleaching
has been brought up by the increased temperatures. With the continued global warming, coral

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reefs are expected to be popular as years go by. Coral bleaching is known to cause increased
susceptibility to diseases which lead to ecological effects for the reef societies (De’ath , Fabricius
, & Sweatman, 2015).
Climate change has diverse effects on the living organisms in the reefs. The increased
temperature range makes some species of fish to vacate their habitats, and this leads to increased
chick mortality in the seabirds that are predatory. The sea turtles that live in the habitat will also
be affected in their population that is available in that habitat ( Lough & Fabricius, 2013).
Pollution
Pollution is another threatening factor that is affecting the Great Barrier Reef and also the
declining quality of water. During the events of tropical floods, the rivers emanating from the
North Eastern part of Australia. Approximately, 90% of this runoff comes from farms. The
farming practices that are practiced in or near the Great Barrier Reef damage the reef as a result
of overgrazing, increased deposits and runoff of fertilizers and agricultural sediments, herbicides,
pesticides among others (Marshall & Baird, 2015). The latter poses a very great danger to the
health of living organisms living in the area and also the biodiversity of the reefs. The sediments
contain high levels of copper and other heavy metals that come from Papua New Guinea and
they pose a very high risk to the North Part of Great Barrier Reef and also in Torres Strait.
The disappearance of the coastal wetland
The runoff is brought about and triggered by the loss of the coastal wetlands which are
natural filters for toxins also aid in the deposition of sentiments. The poor water quality is
thought to be caused by the increased competition of the levels of light and oxygen from the
algae (Randall . , Allen , & Steene, 2015).

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Eutrophication
The fertilizers that are used for farming release nitrogen and potassium into the
ecosystem of the ocean. This limiting nutrients lead to an increased growth of nutrients and
finally, this leads to the depletion of oxygen that is available for the other oceanic creatures and
hence causing an imbalance to the biodiversity in the areas that are affected (De’ath , Fabricius ,
& Sweatman, 2015).
Phytoplankton is also increased by the high levels of fertilizers. Research shows that
doubling of chlorophyll. Research shows that the doubling of chlorophyll in water leads to an
increase in the tenfold as a result of erosion of the firm soils which in turn causes detrimental
effects on the coral (Maxwell, 2013).
Mining pollution
The Queensland Nickel alone is a mining industry that 2009 to 2011 discharged
approximately 516 tons of nitrate-laden. The company has been advised severally to develop a
management plan to abolish this hazard (Babcock & Bull, 2015).
Shipping
The accidents of transportation have become a pressing concern for some time. Several
commercial ships have been passing through the Great barrier route the reef pilots consider this
route as a safe one although it is not an easy route. They think it is a safer route because of the
backups in the event of a mechanical failure because a ship can sit safely as repairing is done
(De’ath , Fabricius , & Sweatman, 2015).

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The total economic frameworks problem that is addressed in this discussion is that there should
be more funding and action aimed at protecting the GBR. The justification for funding is that
GBR has an infinite value and that the annual cost is $ 5.5 billion regarding the expenditure of
the area. The atomistic approach will be used to add each value and then sum them up altogether.
The combined approach, on the other hand, will value the groups of elements together (Furnas,
2014).
The standard resource economic resource tries to identify the potential changes to the
resource allocation and also compares the benefits of the cost of changing. The value framework
for BGR can be seen in the table below.
( Lough & Fabricius, 2013).

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Some of the key categories identified includes commercial fishing, recreational fishing tourism,
and international residents, indirect values of the protection of the coastal region, nonuse values
accrued to the Australians and also the non-use values accrued to the foreign residents (Marshall
& Baird, 2015).
The value economics given by the oxford economics shoed the following as depicted in
the table below
(Furnas, 2014).
The diagram below will show the relative value components

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( Lough & Fabricius, 2013).
As seen above, the producer surplus for the commercial fish appears very high. It
assumes a GOS of about 36% of the value of production is also inaccuracy in the replacement
cost approach and there are also problems with then additional nonuse values in that: the sources
that are studied are not updated they are also very limited. There is also a shortcoming since this

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approach involves the transfer of the marginal values without adjustments or even the
comprehension of the theoretical values (De’ath, , 2012). The problems encountered in the
transfer of the non-use values include the existence of a limited marginal change and the fact that
while the direct use values can be assessed with ease for the whole GBR, it is practically not
possible to do it with the non-use values ( Lough & Fabricius, 2013).
To have a concrete analysis; it is advisable to frame the analysis with respect to the
marginal improvements to protection that is; we can exclude a 10% decline in health and ask
ourselves the value of TEV of 10% improvement in the GBR health (De’ath, , 2012). More
appropriate analysis can also be done when we assume that the direct use and direct use values
can possibly be scaled to the GBR health that is; a 10% decline in the health sector can lead to a
10% decline in the use and values (Marshall & Baird, 2015).
The summary of the estimates of values are shown in the diagram below
(ohnson & Marshall, 2015).

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Extrapolation across the Australian population has been used in the generation of the estimates of
value. Making reference to the assumptions about the above representation, the values range
from $ 433M to $ 576M given a 5% rate of discount, $ 558 to $ 575M given a 2.7% rate of
discount. A 10% has value of approximately $ 5 billion given at a discount rate of 5% for all
households in Australia which includes the non-use and recreation. The TEV approach proves to
be more useful when it is applied to the marginal changes since it allows for consistency in the
use of use and non-use values. The TEV improvement of 1% amounts to approximately $ 631M
(Randall . , Allen , & Steene, 2015).
In valuing the reef, research was done to get the willingness of people to pay for the same
through taxes and levies. Results showed that A $ 68 per head per annum. The research also used
the travel cost method used to estimate the willingness to pay for the GBR based on the time and
money people spend to visit the place. This came with its shortcoming since it is not easy to
measure the realistic amount in the willingness of people to pay (Babcock & Bull, 2015). The
respondents mat also respond strategically more so if they think that they will be slugged with a
GBR levy. The responds may conflate this environmental issue with the other environmental
issues hence make it not easy to get the appropriate information needed. The methodology
applied in this report leaves out the non-market value provided by the reef and which is very
important (these includes the ecosystem services). ( Lough & Fabricius, 2013) For instance, the
coral reefs provide a protection to the storm and also provide protection against erosion. There
are nurseries that comprise about 25% of the marine animals which have both commercial and
existence value and are in most cases not accounted for. Value put on the GBR reef hides the fact
that it is not replaceable. Any loss put on items like GBR is never replacable.in cases where
value on ecosystem is not replaceable and there exists irreversible losses, a more appropriate

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framework for decision making that can be used is the precautionary principle ( Lough &
Fabricius, 2013).
For the cases where there is no certainty regarding the impacts of effects of the new
development on an asset of development, decision makers are supposed to be very cautious and
also minimize on the maximum loss. Assignation of any value to the GBR might be appropriate
under the precautionary principle in the estimation of the maximum loss. However, the pricing of
all values would be needed especially the ecosystem services. GBR is a priceless asset and hence
it should be left like that and act accordingly. In a case where the precautionary principle would
be applied in assessing an ecologically sustainable development, it will be just for our main icon
of the environment (Randall . , Allen , & Steene, 2015).
Conclusion
The prioritization and protection of GBR is apolitical issue of discussion and needs a lot
of political will which cannot be easily solved through pricing and economics. There is need for
everyone to take action whether big or small to reduce the threats and therefore restore the
condition of GBR. This will lead to the improvement in the outlook of the reef. The projects
should be funded since they aim at the protection and restoration of the Great Barrier Reef.

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References
Lough , J. M., & Fabricius, K. E. (2013). Declining coral calcification on the Great Barrier Reef. Sydney.
Babcock , R. C., & Bull, G. D. (2015). Synchronous spawnings of 105 scleractinian coral species on the
Great Barrier Reef. Marine Biology, 56(3), 67-78.
Bennett, I. (2014). The great barrier reef. Melbourne.
De’ath, , G. (2012). "The 27–year decline of coral cover on the Great Barrier Reef and its. " Proceedings
of the National Academy of Sciences, (pp. 17995 17999). Melbourne.‐
Furnas, M. M. (2014). Catchments and corals: terrestrial runoff to the Great Barrier Reef. Australian
Institute of Marine Science & CRC Reef Research Centre.
Marshall , P. A., & Baird, A. H. (2015). Bleaching of corals on the Great Barrier Reef: differential
susceptibilities among taxa. Coral reefs, 19(2), 45-67.
Maxwell, W. G. (2013). Atlas of the great barrier reef. Brisbane.
ohnson , J. E., & Marshall, P. A. (2015). Climate change and the Great Barrier Reef: a vulnerability
assessment. Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority and the Australian Greenhouse Office.
Kolkata.
Randall . , J. E., Allen , G. R., & Steene, R. C. (2015). Fishes of the great barrier reef and coral sea.
University of Hawaii Press.