1. Home
  2. Current Affairs
  3. Current News
  4. Great Barrier Reef to be put Under ‘In Danger’ World Heritage Sites

Great Barrier Reef to be put Under ‘In Danger’ World Heritage Sites

  • 23 Jun 2021

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has recommended the Great Barrier Reef, Australia - the world’s biggest coral reef system - be placed on a list of ‘in danger’ world heritage sites, a move opposed by the Australian government.

  • It will be decided at the World Heritage Committee meeting in July 2021.
  • If the Committee follows the recommendation, it would be the first time, a natural world heritage site to be moved to “in danger” list mainly because of impacts from the climate crisis.
  • It is the second time the reef has faced the threat of an ‘in danger’ listing. The last time, in 2015, the government embarked on a successful lobbying effort to pressure the 21-country committee.

‘In Danger’ Listing

  • World heritage sites are global icons and “in danger” listings are usually recommended after effects from armed conflict and war, pollution, poaching and uncontrolled urbanisation.

Concerns of UNESCO

  • The Unesco report says a revision of Australia’s key reef policy – the reef 2050 plan – should “fully incorporate” conclusions from a major government review that “accelerated action at all possible levels is required to address the threat from climate change”.
  • The report said despite efforts and achievements by the state and federal governments, key targets on improving water quality had not been met.
  • “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,” it said.

Political Angle

  • The Australian government suspects China may have played a role in the latest recommendation. It chairs the World Heritage Committee and will host a meeting on 16 July at which the draft recommendation will be considered.

About the World Heritage Committee

  • The World Heritage Committee meets once a year, and consists of representatives from 21 of the States Parties to the Convention elected by their General Assembly.
  • At its first session, the Committee adopted its Rules of Procedure of the World Heritage Committee.
  • The Committee is responsible for the implementation of the World Heritage Convention, defines the use of the World Heritage Fund and allocates financial assistance upon requests from States Parties.
  • It has the final say on whether a property is inscribed on the World Heritage List.
  • It examines reports on the state of conservation of inscribed properties and asks States Parties to take action when properties are not being properly managed.
  • It also decides on the inscription or deletion of properties on the List of World Heritage in Danger.

44th Session of World Heritage Committee

  • The World Heritage Committee’s 44th session will be chaired from Fuzhou (China) and take place online from 16 to 31 July, combining current work and issues left outstanding since last year, when the annual meeting was postponed due to COVID-19.
  • The extended session will be chaired by Tian Xuejun, China’s Vice Minister for Education and Director of China’s National Commission for UNESCO.
  • Starting on 24 July, the World Heritage Committee will start inscribing nominated sites (Natural, Cultural and Mixed Sites) on the UNESCO World Heritage List, beginning with nominations that could not be reviewed last year.

India’s Sites (Cultural) under Consideration at Fuzhou

  • The Glorious Kakatiya Temples and Gateways – Rudreshwara (Ramappa) Temple, Telangana
  • Dholavira: A Harappan City: Ancient Dholavira is an archaeological site in Kutch District. It contains ruins of the ancient Indus Valley Civilization city, and is one of the largest Harappan archaeological sites.

Note: Presently, there are 38 World Heritage Sites located in India.