Australia fights UN over reef health

Environmentalists applauded the UN's proposal to downgrade the Great Barrier Reef because of climate change. Australia said it would fight the report, as fewer tourists would be attracted to the region.

By

World News

June 22, 2021 - 9:21 AM

Great Barrier Reef Photo by Wikimedia Commons

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Australia said Tuesday it will fight against plans to downgrade the Great Barrier Reef’s World Heritage status due to climate change, while environmentalists have applauded the U.N. World Heritage Committee’s proposal.

The committee said in a draft report on Monday that “there is no possible doubt” that the network of colorful corals off Australia’s northeast coast was “facing ascertained danger.”

The report recommends that the world’s most extensive coral reef ecosystem be added to UNESCO’s List of World Heritage in Danger, which includes 53 sites, when the World Heritage Committee considers the question in China in July.

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