Australian Great Barrier Reef for Environmental - myassignmenthelp

Question: Discuss about theAustralian Great Barrier Reef for Environmental Effect. Answer: Introduction There is an increased need to preserve the coral reefs in Australia owing to its usefulness in anchoring tourist attraction. Some parts of the Great Barrier Reefs has already been damage which is destroying the tourists perception. A health Reef is attractive as it has rainbow colors that indicates the presence of life. Some part of the Reef has been observed to lose this colors and turning white. The bleaching is a great threat to both the aquatic life and to the Australian economic performance; which subsequently results to elevated mortality rates and susceptibility to diseases (Reefresilience.org, 2016). The bleaching has been argued by the scientists to have been ongoing and has taken long and thus the reports made has shown no hope for recovery. The climatic changes is the most important factor behind the bleaching of Great Barrier Reef; since these natural wonders are famous in attracting tourism which is a reliable source of a countrys income, it is essential for it to be effectively protected (Markham, 2016). This paper results will show how such impacts result and may be useful in precipitating the implementation of global and national policy for reef protection. Other economies will learn from the Australian case and will react before their own situation worsens. The government will also be able to predict the future economic performance decline of the tourism industry if the current bleaching event continues. Informed decision will thus be stimulated. Analysis Anderson (2016) in his article Climate change, tourism and the Great Barrier Reef: what we know noted that the Great Barrier Reef bleach has had a negative impact on the Australian tourism industry. For this reason, its entire section was removed from the international report. The coral bleach of the Great Barrier Reef is attributed to the changes in climate (Environment.gov.au, 2017). According to Jones (2017), some of the most critical factors leading to the irritation of the coral are; diseases, water pollution and the rising water temperatures. There are many tourists who visits Australia to see the Reef. The increased perception on the bleach has damaged the decision making by many and thus a decline on the number of tourists. The wide coverage on the issues of the Reef has created a rising worlds awareness. The Cairns city in Queensland, Australia has over 2.4 million visitors who flow in every year to see the Reef. Their annual contribution to this economy is over 3.1 Billion Australia dollar. The Great Barrier Reef is an anchor to attraction and has resulted in the growth of this area and that of the nation as a whole (Morgan, 2017). The major challenge facing the Australian economy is that scientists have broadly reported on the Reef bleach and thus impacting the tourists decision making. However, the Tour operator Quicksilver has established a strategy to counter the claims posted by the scientist by providing the Reefs health report that acknowledges of the regaining of color by the Reefs upon the cooling of the waters during winter. Fig: Tourists visitation to Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Source: Gbrmpa.gov.au (2017) The number of tourist visiting the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park have gone up as can be observed from the trend above; this is irrespective of whether they are paying the Environmental Management Charge or not. Past research has shown that travel decisions are influenced by environmental effects such as cyclones because they are perceived to damage the natural environment (Marsden, 2016). Little did we know that such events also has a contribution to the coral bleaching event. Jones (2017) noted that the bleaching of the reefs make the dying of corals and they turn white and look lifeless. Recommendation In order to effectively protect this anchor to tourist attraction, the government should immediately impose various policies towards its protection. The tourism guides should protect the Australian tourism industry by showcasing only the part of the reefs that havent yet been damaged. This would ensure that tourists derive satisfaction from their visit. Otherwise, the number of visitors flowing to Australia to see the Reefs will decline which will result in the contraction of this economy. The government should impose fishing restrictions on the Reef since it has been noted to recover with time when the zone is made a no-fishing zone (Information obtained from other Reefs that have recovered). The government should also implement policies against water pollution by various industries. Conclusion The Great Barrier Reef bleach has already taken place and is hurting the Australian economy. Tourism being the sector with the highest potential for driving the Australian economic growth will result in sluggish growth if the bleaching doesnt cease. The damage on the tourist perception has also already in place since scientists have reported of the dying Great Barrier Reef corals on the public domain and thus its only a positive campaign by the government that can help solve this problem. It is not quite clear of the period in which the Reefs will take to recover but with proper government policies, there is assurance that the recovery is achievable. The color of the corals is an indicator that policy intervention is important at this stage. References Anderson, A. (2016). Climate change, tourism and the Great Barrier Reef: what we know. [Online] The Conversation. Available at: https://theconversation.com/climate-change-tourism-and-the-great-barrier-reef-what-we-know-60108 [Accessed 21 Aug. 2017]. Environment.gov.au. (2017). Australias biodiversity and climate change. [Online] Available at: https://www.environment.gov.au/system/files/resources/eab369d6-76f9-46c8-beb4-aaae8ece112e/files/biodiversity-vulnerability-great-barrier-reef.pdf [Accessed 22 Aug. 2017]. Gbrmpa.gov.au. (2017). Tourist visits to the entire marine park. [Online] Available at: https://www.gbrmpa.gov.au/visit-the-reef/visitor-contributions/gbr_visitation/numbers/tourist-visits-to-the-entire-marine-park [Accessed 22 Aug. 2017]. Jones, H. (2017). An underwater investigation of coral bleaching in the South Pacific. [Online] Time.com. Available at: https://time.com/coral/ [Accessed 22 Aug. 2017]. Markham, A. (2016). Revealed: report for UNESCO on the Great Barrier Reef that Australia didn't want world to see. [Online] the Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/may/27/revealed-the-report-on-the-great-barrier-reef-that-australia-didnt-want-the-world-to-see [Accessed 22 Aug. 2017]. Marsden, S. (2016). Transboundary Environmental Governance: Inland, Coastal and Marine Perspectives. Routledge. Morgan, J. (2017). Conservation of the Great Barrier Reef Australia. [Online] Wwf.org.au. Available at: https://www.wwf.org.au/what-we-do/oceans/great-barrier-reef#gs.tddsfFE [Accessed 22 Aug. 2017]. Reefresilience.org. (2016). Bleaching Impacts. [Online] Available at: https://www.reefresilience.org/coral-reefs/stressors/bleaching/bleaching-impacts/ [Accessed 22 Aug. 2017].