Great Barrier Reef

• Changes to oceanic waters
• Ground water pollution
• Marine transport infrastructure (Coastal development, including development of ports, shipping lane impacts, grounding of ships)
• Non-renewable energy facilities (Liquefied Natural Gas facilities)
• Marine transport infrastructure (ports)
• Other climate change impacts
• Storms
• Surface water pollution
• Temperature change

On 18 December 2018, the State Party submitted a letter regarding the mid-term review of the Reef 2050 Long-Term Sustainability Plan (Reef 2050 Plan) and its results, along with information that a new Reef 2050 Water Quality Improvement Plan 2017-2022 (WQIP) had been released. On 18 July 2019, the State Party submitted a position statement on climate change from the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA). On 6 August 2019, the World Heritage Centre sent a letter to the State Party raising concerns about the approval of the Carmichael Coal Mine, to which the State Party responded on 6 September 2019, noting that the project’s approval is subject to over 180 regulatory conditions and that compliance with these conditions will be monitored.

On 30 August 2019, the State Party submitted the Great Barrier Reef Outlook Report 2019 (2019 GBR Outlook Report) and the Reef Water Quality Report Card 2017 and 2018.

On 29 November 2019, the State Party submitted a state of conservation report, available at http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/154/documents/, providing the following information:

• A number of factors have negatively affected the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the property since 2015, including mass coral bleaching events in 2016 and 2017;
• The 2019 GBR Outlook Report concluded that the long-term outlook for the ecosystem of the property has deteriorated from poor to very poor and that climate change remains the most serious threat for the property. Other key threats are land-based run-off, coastal development and some direct human uses. It further concluded that accelerated action to mitigate climate change and improve water quality was essential to turn this outlook around. The report also concluded that the OUV of the property remained intact; however, components underpinning it have deteriorated since the inscription. Specifically, it noted a 30% loss of shallow-water coral cover following the 2016 bleaching event and the combined footprint of the 2016 and 2017 bleaching event extending over two thirds of the property. Furthermore, deterioration of the ecological processes underpinning the OUV of the property “has been more rapid and widespread than was evident in the period 2009 to 2014”;
• It is acknowledged that climate change requires effective global action under the Paris Agreement on Climate Change (2015), with the 1,5 °C target widely recognized as a critical threshold for the property;
• A mid-term review of the Reef 2050 Plan was undertaken in 2017, in light of the aforementioned bleaching events in 2016 and 2017. The updated Reef 2050 Plan, published in July 2018, recognizes the impacts of climate change on the property and the importance of global action for climate change mitigation. The next full review of the Plan is currently in progress and was due to be completed in 2020, based on the outcomes of the mid-term review and the 2019 GBR Outlook Report;
• The Reef 2050 Plan Insights Report, an independent assessment, which considered whether the Reef 2050 Plan was effective in achieving its vision, concluded that the Plan “has provided a very sound framework for improving the effective management of the Reef’s values”. An independent assessment of management effectiveness, prepared to inform the 2019 GBR Outlook Report, noted a number of improvements resulting from the Reef 2050 Plan;
• An assessment of progress towards achieving the targets of the Reef 2050 Plan notes that while some of them are being met, significant improvements will be required to meet other targets, including those for biodiversity and water quality;
• A USD 430 million WQIP is being implemented. The Reef Water Quality Report Card 2017 and 2018 concluded that, despite some advancement, progress towards achieving the 2025 targets has been very slow, with property-wide results for sediment reduction and dissolved inorganic nitrogen assessed as “very poor” and results for most of land management targets as “poor” or “very poor”;
• New legislation was approved by the Queensland Government in September 2019 to strengthen the regulatory framework for reducing nutrient and sediment releases. Changes were also introduced to the Queensland’s vegetation management laws in 2018 to prevent clearing of remnant vegetation in reef catchments;
• Additional funding commitments were made since the release of the Reef 2050 Plan Investment Framework in 2016. Total state and federal investment for the Reef 2050 Plan implementation between 2014-2024 has increased from an estimated USD 1,43 billion in 2015 to an estimated USD 1,94 billion in 2020;
• Additional actions have also been undertaken to build the resilience of the property, including through the Reef Restoration and Adaptation Programmes.

On 17 April 2020, the State Party submitted additional preliminary information regarding the coral bleaching events that took place in spring 2020.

The World Heritage Centre and IUCN also received letters and third-party information about the Reef 2050 Plan progress and the effects of climate change on the property.

On 1 February 2021, the State Party submitted additional information, providing an update on the state of conservation of the property:

• The geographic footprint of the 2020 bleaching event was the largest to date; however, there was significant variability in the severity of bleaching;
• The Reef Water Quality Report Card 2019 has been released and demonstrates further progress towards some targets, particularly the one on the dissolved inorganic nitrogen;
• The updated Reef 2050 Plan is expected to be released in 2021, following an extensive consultation process;
• Additional investment in various programmes and projects was announced in 2020.

Since the inception of the Reef 2050 Plan in 2015, the State Party has shown strong commitment to its implementation, including through ensuring unprecedented levels of financial support and the mobilization of inter-institutional collaboration. These efforts should be commended. However, despite these efforts, the OUV of the property has continued to decline. The conclusions of the 2019 GBR Outlook Report are clear in stating that the long-term outlook for the ecosystem of the property has further deteriorated from poor to very poor, and that the deterioration has been more rapid and widespread than was evident during the period 2009-2014. The property has also suffered significantly from coral bleaching events in 2016, 2017 and most recently in 2020, as a result of global warming.

In its Decision 39 COM 7B.7 (2015), the World Heritage Committee decided to review the state of conservation of the property at its 44th session, linked to the findings of the anticipated 2019 GBR Outlook Report. In the five years following this Decision, both the current condition and the long-term outlook for the property have deteriorated. Therefore, there is no possible doubt that the property is facing ascertained danger, according to Paragraph 180 a) of the Operational Guidelines.

In its Decision 41 COM 7B.24 (2017), the World Heritage Committee encouraged the State Party to accelerate efforts toward meeting the intermediate and long-term targets of the Reef 2050 Plan, in particular those related to water quality. As confirmed in the State Party’s report and previous assessments, improving water quality is central to turning around the further deterioration of the property. The results of the 2017, 2018 and 2019 Reef Water Quality Report Cards, however, confirm that despite some commendable achievements, particularly on the dissolved inorganic nitrogen (as demonstrated by the 2019 Report Card), and although the Reef 2050 Plan has provided a coherent framework to improve the management of the property, progress towards achieving the targets has been very slow in many key areas.

It can be concluded that, despite many positive achievements by the State Party, progress has been insufficient in meeting key targets of the Reef 2050 Plan. The Plan requires stronger and clearer commitments, in particular towards urgently countering the effects of climate change, but also towards accelerating water quality improvement and land management measures. The widespread effects of the consecutive coral bleaching events further add to the significant concerns regarding the future of the property. While the mid-term review of the Reef 2050 Plan has already outlined some considerations concerning climate change, it is crucial that its final form fully incorporate the conclusions of the 2019 GBR Outlook report, provide clear commitments to address threats from climate change, in conformity with the goals of the 2015 Paris Agreement, and allow to meet water quality targets faster. It is further essential that the final plan incorporate the necessary measures to fully implement the Plan’s overall mission to secure the sustainable conservation of the property for future generations.

Based on the above, and noting, in particular, that both the current condition and the long-term outlook of the property have deteriorated, the World Heritage Centre and IUCN consider that the property is facing ascertained danger according to Paragraph 180 a) of the Operational Guidelines and hence recommend that the Committee inscribe the property on the List of World Heritage in Danger.

It is further recommended that the Committee request the State Party to invite a joint World Heritage Centre/IUCN Reactive Monitoring mission to collaboratively develop a set of corrective measures and a Desired state of conservation for the removal of the property from the List of World Heritage in Danger (DSOCR). It is recommended that the corrective measures focus on ensuring that the Reef 2050 Plan’s policy commitments, targets and implementation adequately address the threat of climate change and water quality and take into account the fact that the State Party on its own cannot address the threats of climate change. It is further recommended that the Committee call with the utmost urgency upon all States Parties and the international community to implement the most ambitious actions to address climate change to meet their obligations to the World Heritage Convention, as defined under Article 6 of the Convention and fulfil their responsibility to protect the Great Barrier Reef.