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

N/A

On 30 January 2024, the State Party submitted a progress report, available at https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/154/documents/, providing the following information:

• Preliminary mapping of Reef catchments has been delivered to prioritise catchments for gully repairs, including associated funding. A joint Australian and Queensland government ‘Streambank Remediation Program’ is underway to further reduce sediment runoff from eroded streambanks and gullies in priority catchments, and will be complemented by the ‘Landscape Repair Program’;
• The Australian Government’s AUD 1.2 billion Reef Protection and Restoration commitment includes funding to accelerate actions to meet water quality targets. Further investments will be made to support improved land management through voluntary practice change programmes, rehabilitating wetlands, building capacity and expanding successful pilot projects;
• Review of the Reef Scientific Consensus Statement (SCS) and Reef 2050 Water Quality Improvement Plan (WQIP) is underway and will be finalized in 2025;
• Protection of remnant and high value conservation areas has increased across Reef catchments, including the expansion of the protected area system, returning ownership and management of identified lands to Traditional Owners, and pursuing engagement and incentives for sustainable native vegetation management;
• Recent reports indicate a 26% reduction in land clearing in Reef catchments between 2019 and 2021. The Queensland Government has developed a system to detect illegal land clearing, using remote sensing, allowing early intervention with landowners, which is complimented by the Statewide Land Cover and Trees Study (SLATS) to monitor and report on vegetation change;
• Activities to ensure compliance with Reef protection regulation standards across sugarcane and banana and beef cattle farming has increased across regulated Reef catchments, with the number of compliance officers more than doubling in 2023 compared to 2021, exceeding expectations;
• Industry participation in adopting best management practices (BMP) will be supported through the Reef Trust Water Quality Package 2022-23 to 2029-30, including AUD 10 million to support BMP programmes alongside a further AUD 25 million funding from the Queensland Government for practice improvement in key agricultural commodities;
• The Queensland Government is working to establish the voluntary Reef Credits Scheme and resultant market with an independent environmental markets administrator. A Nature Repair Market is being established to enable landholders to be issued with tradeable biodiversity certificates for repair and restoration projects in Reef catchments and the property, and will operate in parallel with the Carbon Credit Unit scheme;
• Regulations commenced to remove large gillnet licenses (N1; N2 & N) from the property. Limited ‘NX’ licenses will be available to allow for some gillnet fishing during the transition phase until these expire in 2027. NX licenses do not permit gillnetting in identified high value areas for threatened species and are subject to mandatory compliance enforcement measures;
• Commercial gillnets and small bait mesh nets have been banned from the northern third of the property and all dugong protection areas, with a limited number of exceptions, and hammerhead sharks were made no-take for commercial fisheries;
• Implementation of the Queensland Sustainable Fisheries Strategy 2017-2027 has been accelerated, with 29 of 33 actions completed. Remaining actions, including finalisation of the Rocky Reef harvest strategy, are on track for delivery prior to the expiry of the Strategy;
• Legislation to mandate independent data validation on all commercial fishing vessels was initiated in December 2023, and will likely come into effect in the first quarter of 2024. Gillnet and trawl fisheries will be prioritised, with funding from Queensland and Australian governments, drawing on ecological risk assessments for each fishery;
• A climate change addendum to the Reef 2050 Plan has been developed, which reflects relevant commitments and legislation;
• Targets to reduce Australia’s emissions by 43% below 2005 levels by 2030 and achieve net zero by 2050 have been legislated. The Queensland Government has committed to reduce emission of 75% on 2005 levels by 2035;
• A Net Zero Plan and sectoral decarbonisation plans are being developed;
• The Australian Carbon Credit Union (ACCU) Scheme contributes to sediment reduction and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The Scheme was independently reviewed to ensure integrity and alignment with best practice;
• The Reef Protection Package is funding adaptation research initiatives including the ‘Crown-of-Thorns Starfish (COTS) Control Program’, ‘Reef Joint Field Management Program’, and the Tourism Reef Protection Initiative;

The State Party considers in summary, that the report demonstrates a step-change in its approach to global climate action and marine management leadership. A letter of the State Party to UNESCO of 30 January 2024 also notes that Australia considers it appropriate to provide a state of conservation report in 2026 prior to any further consideration of adding the Reef on the List of World Heritage in Danger. This position is proposed given the time required to allow proper consideration of the efficacy of the investments and actions being taken.

On 23 February 2024, the World Heritage Centre and IUCN received information on progress about the management of the property from civil society, including WWF-Australia, the Australian Marine Conservation Society, and Earth Justice.

On 12 April 2024, the World Heritage Centre received additional information from the State Party, notably on prevalent shallow-water coral bleaching event affecting approximately 74% of the property according to aerial surveys undertaken in February and March 2024. The State Party also reported that in-water surveys are underway, which will enable them to assess the prevalence of bleaching among different species, habitats and depths in the coming months, while responding to the event by reducing cumulative pressures on the property and building resilience consistent with the adaptive management approach of the Reef 2050 Plan. Results of these assessments, including mortality rates, are anticipated to be available by the end of 2024.

Implementation of the strong commitments made by the State Party in response to the 2022 joint World Heritage Centre/IUCN Reactive Monitoring mission recommendations, including to reverse degraded water quality, halt all gillnet fishing, fully implement the fisheries management strategy and reduce CO₂ emissions in line with the Paris Agreement targets, has commenced and is on track as expected. The summer 2023-2024 mass bleaching event, which is the fifth mass bleaching event since 2016, is of utmost concern and is ongoing at the time of preparation of the present report. Mortality levels of the current bleaching are unclear at this stage. The State Party is urged to make mortality rates public as soon as possible. The current bleaching occurs as part of the fourth global mass bleaching, which is likely impacting at least 30% of the World Heritage-listed coral reef properties, and the implications across the World Heritage system will also need to be considered further.

The progress made to reduce sediment and nutrient loads into the property are welcomed, in particular the concerted action to focus on priority areas with the highest sediment runoff. The State Party should be urged to take a similar approach toward the reduction of dissolved inorganic nitrogen and announce its programme as a priority. Compliance with regulatory standards amongst sugarcane, banana and cattle farming is reported to be increasing, in part due to increased enforcement efforts, which are welcomed. Nevertheless, full compliance is required alongside accelerated adoption of best management practice, which go beyond the minimum regulatory standards, in line with the recommendations of the 2022 joint World Heritage Centre/IUCN Reactive Monitoring mission.

Process to finalize the Scientific Consensus Statement and update of the Reef 2050 WQIP is welcomed. The State Party should be urged to ensure that the targets and programmes in the updated 2025-2030 WQIP are sufficiently ambitious to secure tangible results in reversing water quality. At this stage, it is uncertain whether the 2025 water quality targets will be achieved and efforts toward this end require the most diligent attention. Significant reductions in both sediment and dissolved inorganic nitrogen are essential for the future resilience of the property, in particular considering the rapidly changing climate conditions. Whilst progress is reported in reducing the rate of land clearing in Reef catchments, including through increased efforts in detection and enforcement of illegal clearing, it is of high concern that rates of native vegetation clearing remain significant. High levels of land clearing are incompatible with the objectives set out to reverse poor water quality. Native vegetation clauses under existing laws need strengthening to ensure that all remnant and high value growth areas are protected, including category X vegetation (under the Queensland Vegetation Management Act), in line with the recommendation of the 2022 joint World Heritage Centre/IUCN Reactive Monitoring mission to the property, and alongside other high priority areas including riparian zones, lands vulnerable to degradation and areas contributing to sediment and nitrogen pollution. Programmes to repair and restore coastal wetland and riparian ecosystems alongside nutrient and pesticide pollution reduction must be implemented at the scale required to safeguard the property’s Outstanding Universal Value (OUV).

Implementation of the commitments to phase out all destructive gillnet fishing across the property is on track and the decisive action of the State Party should be commended. It is essential that the property is fully gillnet free, without exception, by mid-2027 at the latest, in line with the State Party’s commitments. It is also vital that new Net-Free Zones, in particular in key habitats that support the OUV of the property are being established and legislation is enforced, including the review and verification of catch amongst fisheries and publication of relevant data to ensure transparency.

Following the adoption of the Climate Change Act that legislated a 43% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions on 2005 levels by 2030, alongside the more ambitious targets set by the Queensland Government, the progress towards achieving the necessary emission reductions is noted. The State Party should be urged to set more ambitious emission reduction targets consistent with limiting global temperature to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.

The climate change addendum to the Reef 2050 Plan is noted with appreciation, and the State Party should ensure that the Plan is effectively implemented to limit the impacts of climate change on the property, including through enhanced adaptation measures for which the continued investment into their research and development is welcomed. The contribution of the Australian Carbon Credit Union (ACCU) Scheme towards sediment reduction and reducing greenhouse gas emissions, as well as its independent review to ensure integrity and alignment with best practice, are noted. The State Party should be urged to ensure overall net benefits to the OUV of the property are delivered.

It is further important that programmes including the ‘COTS Control Program’ as well as the ‘Reef Joint Field Management Program’ are maintained, and that overall innovation in responding to threats faced by the property are scaled up and funded accordingly.

The World Heritage Centre and IUCN take note of the position of the State Party regarding the timelines for implementation. After submission of a state of conservation report by the State Party by 1 February 2026, the Committee could consider the inclusion of the property on the List of World Heritage in Danger at its 48th session in 2026. Nevertheless it is clear that the property remains under serious threat, and urgent and sustained action is of utmost priority in order to improve the resilience of the property in a rapidly changing climate, in particular through implementation of all the recommendations of the March 2022 joint World Heritage Centre/IUCN Reactive Monitoring mission and the commitments made by the Australian Government to the World Heritage Committee in 2023. Whilst there will be more complete information on the commitments to address the existing threat available to the World Heritage Committee in 2026 regarding the progress in implementation, following the five year review of the Reef 2050 Plan in 2025, the continuing and unprecedented sequence of bleaching events negatively affecting the property, including the reported ongoing significant event in summer 2023-24, make clear that there is a need for the Committee to also review the state of conservation of the property at the 47th session in 2025, notably in relation to the impacts of the latest bleaching event. Strengthening the resilience of the property as a whole is of upmost critical importance to give the property the chance to withstand repeated bleaching and extreme weather events.