All 21 nation-members spoke in favour of the decision to not inscribe the Great Barrier Reef on the List of World Heritage in Danger and commended Australia’s efforts in developing the Reef 2050 Long Term Sustainability Plan and associated targets and asked Australia to provide an update on the Plan by 1 December 2016.
Background
The Great Barrier Reef is the largest coral reef ecosystem on earth and one of the best managed marine areas in the world. At 348,000 km2, the Reef is one of the richest and most diverse natural ecosystems on Earth.
The unique qualities of the Great Barrier Reef were recognised in 1981 when it was inscribed on the World Heritage List by the World Heritage Committee.
In 2012, the World Heritage Committee indicated a series of concerns about the health of the Reef and requested a number of actions and reports be prepared by Australia in response. These included:
- the nature of the threats to the reef,
- what the Australian Government is doing to improve the resilience of the reef, and
- how the Outstanding Universal Value of the property is being managed and protected.
The World Heritage Committee’s role
The World Heritage Committee meets once a year, and consists of representatives from 21 countries (membership rotates). It examines reports on the state of conservation of World Heritage properties and asks States Parties to take action when properties are not being properly managed. It also decides on the inscription or deletion of properties on the List of World Heritage in Danger.
At its last four sessions, the World Heritage Committee has considered the state of conservation of the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area.
In its decisions, the Committee has requested that the Australian Government undertake a range of measures to ensure that the Outstanding Universal Value of the property is not compromised.
Who’s on the World Heritage Committee?
The 21 States Parties currently represented on the World Heritage Committee are:
Algeria, Colombia, Croatia, Finland, Germany, India, Jamaica, Japan, Kazakhstan,Lebanon, Malaysia, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Republic of Korea, Senegal, Serbia, Turkey, Vietnam