Shipping and the Great Barrier Reef Essay -- Trade Nature Conservation

Shipping and the gravid Barrier Reef Australias Great Barrier Reef (GBR) is an unpar eithereled marine ecosystem that holds rank as one of the worlds most valuable natural wonders. The abundance of sea sprightliness offers both intrinsic and physical benefits, but unfortunately this extraordinary habitat is now threatened from s everal different angles. One of the greatest threats to the GBR is the presence of prevalent shipping routes which surround and penetrate the reef. These ships naturally pollute the GBR, but the severest danger lies in the possibility of wrecks spilling oil or other hazardous cargos. History offers some examples of shipwrecks with outcomes that could have been devastating although in that location has not yet been a major disaster. These events have helped to inspire various regulations aiming to curb the risk of any major incident. Nevertheless, there still remains more room for protective measures in order to insure the safety of such an irreplace able treasure.The Great Barrier Reef The GBR organize about 9,000 years ago during the last interglacial period. As with other coral reefs, it is based upon the structure of billions of coral polyps, and the GBR is the longest coral reef system ever to exist. It is consequently the largest structure created by living creatures and so massive that it can be viewed from outer space (Guynup p.22). The GBR includes 2,900 separate reefs and hundreds various islands and cays. The GBR stretches over 2,000 kilometers up the gliding of Queensland. The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park (GBRMP), established in 1975, includes nearly 350,000 square kilometers, which is over half the area covered by all of the protected areas in mainland Australia (Chadwick and Storrie p.1, CRC p.1).... ...w.gbrmpa.gov.au/Guynup, Sharon. 2000. Australias Great Barrier Reef. Science World, 57(1) 22-23.Johns, Gary. 2002. The Four Corners of the Reef Investigative Journalism or Environmental Activism. Ins titute of Public Affairs, 54(2) 10-11. fan tan of the Commonwealth of Australia, Protection of the Great Barrier Reef Report of the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Environment and Conservation, November 1985. Australian Government Publishing Service, capital of Australia 1985.Queensland Transport News Maritime Safety Legislation Passed by Parliament, 31 July 2002.Queensland Transport & the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, Oil run off Risk Assessment for the Coastal Waters of Queensland and the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park August 2000.Wright, Judith, The Coral Battleground. Thomas Nelson, Melbourne 1977.