The State of the Great Barrier Reef On-line

The Great Barrier Reef is widely recognised as one of the World’s great natural wonders

Welcome to the State of the Great Barrier Reef On-line. This website contains information about the state of the Great Barrier Reef, the reporting process and the completed reports. The first State of the Great Barrier Reef Report was published as a a single edition, printed document in 1998. However, the new State of the Great Barrier Reef report is published here as a living document placed on the internet and regularly reviewed and updated.

• View the latest State of the Great Barrier Reef report
• View the previously published 1998 State of the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area report

Why is this important?

The Great Barrier Reef is widely acclaimed as one of the world’s great natural treasurers. In 1981, the Great Barrier Reef gained international recognition through its inscription on the World Heritage List. The Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area is the world’s largest and is one of only a few World Heritage Areas that satisfy all four natural World Heritage Criteria. With its inscription as a World Heritage site, the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA) assumed responsibility for managing the Great Barrier Reef for the global community. A significant part of this responsibility includes the provision of regular reports to the World Heritage Committee. While these reports fulfil Australia’s international World Heritage obligations, they also provide the opportunity to synthesise and review a wide range of information on environmental, ecological, social and economic conditions and trends. In this respect, many of the principles behind State of the Environment reporting can be used as powerful diagnostic and strategic planning tools for the management of the Great Barrier Reef.

The 1998 Report

In 1998, the GBRMPA released the first State of the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area report. This was a significant milestone as it was the first ever synthesis of information on the state of the Great Barrier Reef, the pressures acting on it and the response taken by management agencies. The 1998 report used a Condition – Pressure - Response model to describe the environmental status of major habitats and taxonomic groups with parallel descriptions of social and economic trends and management issues.

The latest State of the Great Barrier Reef report

The updated State of the Great Barrier Reef report is available on-line. While the 1998 report was a static published document, the State of the Great Barrier Reef on-line is a dynamic product based on the Internet. The State of the Great Barrier Reef on-line will allow the GBRMPA to continuously update information and increase user flexibility and access to this information.

The Great Barrier Reef is listed as a Natural World Heritage Area