Operating In The Great Barrier Reef Samples †MyAssignmenthelp.com

Question: Discuss about the Operating In The Great Barrier Reef. Answer: The Great Barrier Reef of Australia is located in the north east region of Australia. It stretches over the Queensland Coastline from Cape Yorks northern tip to Bundaberg (Www.greatbarrierreef.org, 2017). After going through many levels of transformations the millions of dead corals have gone the turned into a wall of stone. Thousands of species inhabit around the wall. Almost 1400 species of corals, 1500 species of fish, 3000 species of mollusks, 14 species of sea snakes and 6 species of sea turtles live here (Www.gbrmpa.gov.au 2017). The rich diversity of sea life with variety of colors has made this places beauty so desirable. This 50000 year old barrier is the largest barrier reef in the world, consisting 900 islands covering over 348,000 square kilometers (Www.unesco.org, 2017). It is the only living thing visible from outer space and considered as one of the Seven Wonders of the World (Www.Sevennaturalwonders.org, 2017). The city of Cairns lives on the big barrier reefs tourism. Thousands of tourists every year just come to meet clownfish popularly known as Nemo. Once reached there, the tourists put on the shoe palms and the diving mask with the snorkel and jumps into the adventure of sea world. The diversity, density and beauty have made this place a must visit destination for the tourists. About 1500 vessels and 820 operators are operating there to manage the visitors activities in the marine park (Www.greatbarrierreef.org, 2017). The tourism business of the site represents the financial stake of the place. The tourism industry has been experiencing positive growth in the behavior of the tourists and authorities regarding the environmental responsibility. The Australian government also understands the ecological value and does not compromise with its environmental protection. For last 20 years it has been classified in the world heritage list (Www.unesco.org 2017). The constant attention by the tou rists, media and authorities has secured its financial growth. The economic sector of the tourism of The Great Barrier Reef covers the business and leisure tourism, commercial and recreational fishing and scientific activities. Tourism provides more than 90% of the direct economy of the region with 91% tourism accounting and 93% employment contributions (Www.environment.gov.au, 2013). In the year 2012 the Great Barrier Reef generated value added 5.6 billion and employment of 69000 dollars, totaling more than 7 billion (Www.environment.gov.au, 2013). However so many tourists constant presence in the natural site is affecting the reef negatively. The pollution, noise and disturbance cause harm for the animals as well. The authority charges 1.3 dollars a week as the cliff tax to the tourists who cross cliff (Michael 2017). This money mainly goes to the preservation of the reef. This world heritage site is visited by average of 1.6 million tourists every year. In the year of 2014, 2,244,217 international and 1,728,000 domestic tourists visited the l ocation increasing 6% from the last year (Www.ecotourism.org.au, 2014). The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority and Deloitte Access Economics research analyze and produce the economic reports of the places tourism. The National and International Visitors Surveys provide the necessary information on the cruise or ship related tourism to define the economic expenditure of the area by using the Tourism Satellite Account Method. GBRMPA and DAE not only studies the commercial sectors but also considers the non commercial values of that reefs tourism as it contributes significantly to the indirect benefit benefits for the locals and the visitors (Www.gbrmpa.gov.au 2017). This indirect business like the food, fuel and beverage contributed estimated 2.3 billion in 2012. 63,985 people were employed as Full Time Equivalents or FTE including 19,500 indirectly and 44,850 directly (Www.environment.gov.au 2013).The commercial fishing contributed 160 million and 975 employments and revenue of 106 million was generated from various organizations for research andman agement purposes (Www.environment.gov.au 2013). Theenvironmental management charge covers all the commercial activities, tourist or non tourist operations and has been collected from each tourists of the marine park. Every visitor has to pay 6 dollars for the full day and 3 dollars for the part day. It generated 6.4 billion and 8.5 billion respectively in the financial years of 2012 and 2014 (Www.deloitteaccesseconomics.com.au 2012). Tourism groups like AMPTO, TRAC, TTNQ, and GAPD mainly manage the tourism business in the area (Www.ecotourism.org.au 2017). The Great Barrier Reef is facing many challenges recently. Over fishing affects 67% of the reef. The corals are suffering from a disease called coral bleaching; where the corals are losing the nutrients and becoming pale white (Www.phys.org 2017). The tourists have been showing more responsibility and awareness on human impact of The Great Barrier Reef ecology. The authorities are organizing tourist interpretation programs on the Reef environmental issues and the evaluation process of the programs and the visitors active participation helping the situation to improve. References Centre, U. (2017).Great Barrier Reef. [online] Whc.unesco.org. Available at: https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/154 [Accessed 28 Jul. 2017]. Ecotourism.org.au. (2017). Tourism and the Great Barrier Reef. [online] Available at: https://www.ecotourism.org.au/assets/Resources-Hub-Ecotourism-Research/Tourism-and-the-Great-Barrier-Reef.pdf [Accessed 28 Jul. 2017]. Gbrmpa.gov.au. (2017).Animals - GBRMPA, The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, Australian Government.. [online] Available at: https://www.gbrmpa.gov.au/about-the-reef/animals [Accessed 28 Jul. 2017]. Great Barrier Reef. (2017). About The Reef | What Is The Great Barrier Reef?. [online] Available at: https://www.greatbarrierreef.org/about-the-reef/ [Accessed 28 Jul. 2017]. Michael, P. (2017).How much the Great Barrier Reef is worth. [online] Couriermail.com.au. Available at: https://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/how-much-the-great-barrier-reef-is-worth/news-story/d267434f9d8cd17ff956cd21bfc3e9a3 [Accessed 28 Jul. 2017]. Phys.org. (2017).Saving Nemo: Bleaching threatens clownfish. [online] Available at: https://phys.org/news/2016-05-nemo-threatens-clownfish.html [Accessed 28 Jul. 2017]. Sevennaturalwonders.org. (2017).Great Barrier Reef Seven Natural Wonders. [online] Available at: https://sevennaturalwonders.org/index_/seven-natural-wonders/great-barrier-reef/ [Accessed 28 Jul. 2017].