Great Barrier Reef avoids World Heritage 'in danger' listing

The UNESCO World Heritage Committee has recommended against putting the Great Barrier Reef on its official list of sites in danger. The committee's latest draft decision praised Australia's efforts to clean up the reef but raised concerns over mass coral bleaching events. What's next? The committee has requested a progress report by December 2028 on the reef's water quality and an updated conservation report in 2029. The Great Barrier Reef has avoided an "in danger" listing in a draft decision by the World Heritage Committee. In the document released overnight, the UNESCO committee noted Australia's "ongoing commitment and enhanced collaborative efforts" towards the reef's long-term protection. However, the UN body also raised "utmost concern" over the site's declining coral cover after mass bleaching events in 2024 and 2025. "Whilst the resilience of the Reef remains evident, its capacity to tolerate and recover from such events is increasingly compromised," the committee wrote. The draft decision will be considered by the World Heritage Committee in a matter of weeks. The committee has requested a full assessment of the most recent bleaching event to the World Heritage Centre "as soon as it becomes available". It also called for a progress report focusing on water quality targets by December 2028, and a conservation report in 2029. The draft decision noted the federal government's Net Zero Plan, which pledges to cut emissions by 62 to 70 per cent by 2035, but called for further ambitious targets to limit temperature increases. Draft decision welcomed In a statement, Environment Minister Murray Watt said the draft decision acknowledged Australia's efforts to protect and manage the reef but that there was more work to do. "We will continue to build on our actions, leverage strong partnerships, and utilise our world-leading Reef management to support the Great Barrier Reef’s resilience into the future," Minister Watt said. “We are extremely lucky to be home to one of the most beautiful and precious places on earth – and we’re determined to protect it.” Queensland Environment Minister Andrew Powell spruiked the state government's "record investment" in the reef. "No-one cares more for the Great Barrier Reef than Queenslanders," Mr Powell said. Mr Powell said the draft decision confirmed that the hard work of farmers, local governments, scientists and "all the people on the ground" had helped protect the reef. He described the reef as the backbone of the state and the country's economy, bringing in billions of dollars a year in tourism dollars. Speaking in Canberra, Assistant Minister for Tourism Nita Green said she was "very pleased" with the draft decision, which "recognises Australia's continued efforts to protect and manage the reef". "We know that it's incredibly important to protect this special icon," she said. Ms Green said the reef was important for tourism and it supported 77,000 jobs. She said the federal and Queensland governments had put more than $5 billion into protecting the reef since 2014, and acknowledged the continued risk of climate change. "This is a constant effort from our government and the Queensland government to not only build the reef's resilience on climate change but to reduce the risk of poor water quality and over-fishing."