Barrier Reef

AUSTRALIA has avoided having the Great Barrier Reef listed as an endangered world heritage site by Unesco, despite concerns about climate change-fuelled damage to the ecosystem’s corals.

At a World Heritage Committee meeting chaired by China on Friday, delegates voted not to downgrade the reef to “in danger”, after a concerted lobbying effort by Canberra. The World Heritage reef has seen dramatic coral decline, due to the impacts of climate change and poor water quality. |