ENSTU 300: Critical Thinking & Communication in Environmental Studies

Great Barrier Reef Protection Policy Plan

Cambria Novelly, Environmental Studies Program, California State University, Monterey Bay

DPA, G. P. A.-. (2021, June 23). Will Australia's Great Barrier Reef lose its UNESCO status?

Introduction
Over the next 20 years, scientists estimate that 70% of all coral reefs will completely die
off primarily as a result of warming ocean waters, ocean acidity, and pollution (Nace, 2020).
Many species are struggling to adapt fast enough to these new conditions occurring on the
planet. These important marine ecosystems have been struggling to sustain themselves more
and more in recent years, and their deterioration of these coral reefs will greatly affect the
biodiversity of the reefs and marine life that call them home. The degradation of coral reefs is
affecting the ocean in ways that will be catastrophic for the human population as well as
biodiversity in the ocean. With coral reefs pushed to the brink of extinction it will also push the
rest of the animals that rely on the coral reefs to extinction (Tran et al., 2019). This lack of fish
on reefs will cause humans to have to farm fish. There is a limit to how much fish humans can
farm and it is not as much as the reef provides naturally. Without the coral reefs, many small
nations that rely on fish as the main source of protein and island-based nations will face the
possibility of starvation without fish on the reefs to feed them (Dietzel,2020). The degradation of
coral reefs is a problem that will affect the overall world. However, the degradation of the Great
Barrier Reef will mainly affect Australia in ways that are not always considered. If the Great
Barrier Reef is not protected then there will be no draw of tourism to Australia to see this World
Heritage Site. There will be a loss of many important fisheries. It will also affect the number of
exports of products that are found because of the Great Barrier Reef. If Australia does not
change its management practices all of these problems will cause a possible collapse of
Australia's economy (Martin, 2021). Humans are the main cause of coral degradation
worldwide. Many natural occurrences also affect the overall health of a coral reef however
humans have sped up the process in many places. As well as created new factors or made the
already natural factors more powerful in a variety of different ways. One way is from the burning
of coal, oil, and gas, which speeds up the process of global warming. That causes the ocean
temperature to rise and stresses out corals to the addition of harmful chemicals entering the
water from offshore dumping, chemical-based sunscreens, and shipping activities (Turan, 2017).
All these different factors have sped up coral degradation and added new challenges for coral
reefs. The main stakeholders that affect Australian policies are government, environmental
organizations, the tourism industry, and the commercial fishing industry. Protecting the Great
Barrier Reef and coral reefs overall improves the health of all underwater ecosystems. In
protecting the Great Barrier Reef it will lead to others following suit in protecting their to help
reef systems.

Background
Coral reef degradation and the policies that help manage their degradation. Stakeholders
affect the policy around coral reefs, government, environmental organizations, tourism industry,
and commercial fishing industry. Coral reefs have been struggling to sustain themselves more
and more in recent years (Australian Institute of Marine Science, 2018). The deterioration of
these coral reefs will greatly affect the biodiversity of the reefs and marine life that call coral
reefs home (Australia's Great Barrier Reef under threat, 2015). The largest coral structure in the
world that is facing this harsh new reality is the Great Barrier Reef. The Great Barrier Reef is
home to more than 1,500 species of fish, 411 types of hard coral, one-third of the world’s soft
corals, 134 species of sharks and rays, six of the world’s seven species of threatened marine
turtles, and more than 30 species of marine mammals, including the vulnerable dugong
(Australia's Great Barrier Reef under threat, 2015). Overall the protection of the world wild reef
ecosystem supports about 6 million fishers (Food, 2021). The protection of the reef ecosystem
will help the world’s wild food system as well as the tourism industry.

History and Scientific Background

Many different events are all coming together to create coral bleaching and coral
degradation to the coral reef ecosystems all over the world. The main issues that have been
occurring more frequently in recent years are coral bleaching. Coral bleaching is caused due to
the warming ocean temperatures, which are
warmed at excessive rates due to the burning of
coal, oil, and gas. Coral bleaching is happening
throughout the coral reef ecosystem. Warmer
water temperatures can result in coral bleaching
as well as harmful chemicals (Alder, 2021).
When water is too warm, corals will expel the
algae living in their tissues causing the coral to
turn completely white. When a coral bleaches, it
is not always dead even though the coral appears
to be. Corals can survive a bleaching event, but
they are under more stress and are subject to
mortality (US Department of Commerce, 2010).
Coral reefs can also become bleached because of
harmful chemicals found in some sunscreen products (Alder, 2021). Between the years 1997-
1998 coral bleaching became more apparent in places like the Great Barrier Reef. The summer
of 1997 was one of the hottest on record summers in Australia. Mild bleaching started to occur in
January and slowly got more intense as the summer continued. “A survey from that summer
revealed that 74% of inshore and 21% of offshore reefs had moderate to high levels of bleaching.
The mass bleaching events became more common in Australia with another one taking place in
the summer of 2001-2002, 2005-2006, 2008-2011, 2016, and 2018.” (Australian Institute of
Marine Science, 2018) Coral bleaching is a very destructive worldwide issue that occurs with
rising ocean temperatures. Mass coral bleaching has been observed in corals when the water
temperature exceeds 1–2 C above the monthly mean (Bellworthy, J., & Fine, M.,2017). Coral
bleaching leads to many different issues such as declining biodiversity. Biodiversity decline has
become more predominant as coral bleaching has increased (Bellworthy, J., & Fine, M.,2017).
The biodiversity of the Great Barrier Reef is great. There are approximately 2,000 species that
reside on the Great Barrier Reef and it is
home to ⅓ of the world’s soft corals
(Australia's Great Barrier Reef under
threat, 2015). Even though coral bleaching
is a common issue that is happening to
many corals, there are times when the
bleaching happens that the expelled algae
can sometimes come back and reattach to
corals bringing them back to life. However,
corals cannot handle this explosion of
algae and then regain it too many times.
Nevertheless, some corals have recently
developed a kind of “sunscreen”. This is an
evolutionary change that not all corals
have developed (Bauer, A., 2018). Certain
corals have started to adapt and try to form a defense against the stress that causes coral
bleaching. This “sunscreen” is a form of thermotolerance.Thermotolerance is a evolutionary
change some species have that allows them to survive exposure to temperature above the
optimal for growth (Bauer, A., 2018). The corals themselves are producing a fluorescent
pigment. This fluorescent pigment is produced by the corals to be used as a shield to protect the
zooxanthellae from high water temperatures as well as the harmful effects of UV rays (Bauer, A.,
2018). Very little is still known about this sunblock and it is not all corals that are doing it. It is
an evolutionary adaptation that is occurring in a few corals in limited locations around the world
(Bauer, A., 2018). However, it is bringing forth hope that all corals will eventually be able to
adapt this way to protect themselves. If coral reefs are to survive, policy needs to be enacted to
protect these limited locations where corals are exhibiting these adaptations. The current policy
includes the creation of marine protected areas (MPA)s. The United States has recently enacted
many new policies in an effort to protect the coral reefs in the territorial waters.

Policy context
Many people are hopeful for more marine parks and marine reserves. It is something
that many people are advocating for change in their areas. These marine-protected areas or
MPAs are not just made for coral reefs. MPAs are in place to protect every ocean creature in a
specific area as well as the plants and other marine life in the surrounding area. It helps protect
the biodiversity in an area because it stops fishing as well as extraction of other species and
material from protected areas (Tran et al., 2019). MPAs protect areas from harmful acts from
entering the water and help protect them from further harm (Tran et al., 2019). These policies
have been becoming more predominant. Australia has four organizations that are dedicated to
protecting and creating MPAs. The first is the Reef Water Quality Protection Plan which plans
on helping improve and protect the water flow around the Great Barrier Reef (Managing and
protecting the Great Barrier Reef, 2021). It is mainly to help protect the Great Barrier Reef from
agricultural runoff. The recent research was done by the OECD there analysis showed that more
than 80% of the Great Barrier Reef has been recognized as the major cause of poor water quality
(OECD ocean - water quality in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park 2017). Australian
Greenhouse Office Abatement is another program that Australia has (Waters, L. 2013). It is to
help offset the greenhouse gases. The GBR Fisheries Management Plan is there to protect and
plan ways so that the Great Barrier Reef is being fished safely and only taking what is
needed(Managing and protecting the Great Barrier Reef, 2021). The final protection is the
Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority. The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority is the
main marine protection agency that protects the entire Great Barrier Reef (Waters, L. 2013).
There are similar concepts in the United States. The United States has also started to follow the
example of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority with the Coral Reef Conservation Act
(Waters, L. 2013). There have recently been new amendments dealing with the fisheries in the
Great Barrier Reef. There also have been many new acts passed raising more protections for the
Great Barrier Reef so that it will stay protected and healthy for future generations. The Great
Barrier Reef Marine Park and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2008 is the main act that
places a modern regulatory system of long-term protection and ecological sustainability for the
Great Barrier Reef (Managing and protecting the Great Barrier Reef, 2021). The Great Barrier
Reef Marine Park and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2008’s main goal was to bring the
protection and management of the Great Barrier Reef into the 21st century with new technology
and updated ways of managing the Great Barrier Reef (Managing and protecting the Great
Barrier Reef, 2021). The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park and Other Legislation Amendment Act
2008 puts into action ecosystem-based management is an integrated approach to managing an
ecosystem and matters affecting the ecosystem. The International Journal of the Commons’
analysis on the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2008
states that it led to improvements in the ecological condition of the reef, particularly fisheries
(Evans et al., 2014). Australia and the Great Barrier Reef have many more protections currently
as it is a large tourist attraction and a national heritage site. Australia has many protections for
the Great Barrier Reef as it is the main source of food and income for the country of Australia.
Australia's Great Barrier Reef is so important to the country that there are many stakeholders
involved in the policy-making of the reef.

Stakeholder Perspectives
The main stakeholders that affect Australian policies regarding the Great Barrier Reef
are government, environmental organizations, the tourism industry, and the commercial fishing
industry. Table one outlines each stakeholder’s values, concerns, and contributions. The
government and fishermen have the most overlap in views with the overlapping of their more
utilitarian views. The representatives of the government examples are the Prime Minister,
Queensland, and the Members of Parliament. The representatives of the environmental
organization examples are Coral Reef Alliance and the Great Barrier Reef Foundation. The
representatives of the tourism examples are Ecotourism Australia and Australian tourists. The
representatives of the commercial fishing examples are North Queen Seafoods. Many of these
stakeholders rely on the Great Barrier Reef for one thing or another and most find some kind of
protection for the Great Barrier Reef in their best interests while others are concerned about the
country’s economy. Protecting the Great Barrier Reef and coral reefs overall improves the health
of all underwater ecosystems. Protecting the GBR will lead to others following suit in protecting
their reef systems.
Government Perspective
The Australian government’s main goal is to protect the economic system that drives
Australia. Many times the government will pass laws to protect the Great Barrier Reef because
this will bring in more economic growth from tourism to Australia (Martin, 2021). However, the
government will also sometimes pass laws that will allow heavy fishing in certain areas on the
coral reefs to increase economic growth and stimulation (Martin, 2021). There have been many
amendments passed in recent years changing the original Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Act of
1975 (Managing and protecting the Great Barrier Reef, 2021). Not all the actions taken by the
government have been focused on the protection of this World Heritage Site. More often than
not the Australian government focuses on stabilizing and improving Australia’s economy. The
Australian government will do this by maintaining ecological processes, biodiversity, and
functioning biological communities (Managing and protecting the Great Barrier Reef, 2021).
With these ecological processes maintained the government can then use the reef for economic
gain through either tourism or fishing.
Tourism Perspectives
Tourists and the tourism industry usually express a more moralistic and ecological
value. The tourism industry has two sides to it, some tourists want to choose options to have the
least harmful impact on the places they are going. So tourists like this will choose tourism
companies like EcoTourism Australia. Their goal is “to inspire environmentally sustainable and
culturally responsible tourism.” (Heilbronn, 2021). Ecotourism Australia’s goal is to promote a
better and more environmentally friendly way to see the beauty of Australia. Ecotourism
Australia has a profoundly more ecological standpoint on this as its main goal is to help protect
and preserve the health and well-being of the Great Barrier Reef. Coral bleaching however has
been happening for a long enough time that in general, some tourists want many tour
companies to have an idea as to what its side effects are. Ecotourism Australia offers different
partnerships with companies that are eco-friendly so that these environmentally consuming
tourists may still go on fun excursions while being aware of how their actions will affect the
environment around them. There is the flip side to this that the tourist is less aware of the
environmental impacts that they can have on the Great Barrier Reef. There are many tour
companies that are still doing their best to limit their companies’ impact on the reef. It is on this
side of things that the tourists themselves are causing issues. Some tourists are not informed
and know the rules of the Great Barrier Reef. While I was working on the Great Barrier Reef in
2019 I dealt with many tourists like this. While working with a tour company we oftentimes had
to make sure that tourists were not breaking off parts of the reef as souvenirs. I also had to keep
them from damaging them in other ways that they did not know damaged the coral reefs
(Novelly, October 28, 2019). Some tourists are uninformed while others see the Great Barrier
Reef as just something there for their wants and that it won’t affect anything if they harm the
reef. Tourists can harm coral reefs in many ways. The first is by breaking it off and taking a piece
of the reef home with them, killing the piece that was ripped off. The second is from chemicals in
sunscreens. The final way is just by touching the reef with bare or gloved hands. The oils in the
skin kill the coral reef and when touched with a gloved hand the polyps can get ripped off if
stuck in the glove (Novelly, October 28, 2019). Tourists are two sides of the same coin. Tourists
can have many different positive impacts as well as negative impacts. Some tourists who see the
Great Barrier Reef are awestruck by its beauty and wonder (Novelly, October 28, 2019). Tourists
like this often want to protect the Great Barrier Reef or have more naturalistic or aesthetic views
about the reef. The opposite side of tourists is those who see the Great Barrier Reef and feel the
need to destroy it or take a piece of the reef with them (Novelly, October 28, 2019). Tourists who
are like this are more dominionistic and are searching for control over the wildness that is
nature. Tourists all have different views depending on their knowledge of the Great Barrier Reef
and the human-caused issues.

Environmental Organizations Perspective

Environmental organizations usually have more scientific and ecological values. These
organizations are more likely to have these values due to the large amount of research that many
environmental organizations participate in. The Great Barrier Reef Foundation as an
environmental organization has scientific and ecological values demonstrated by the actions of
the organization. The Great Barrier Reef Foundation is a very large organization dedicated to
researching the Great Barrier Reef to determine how it’s changing and progressing (Great
Barrier Reef Foundation, 2020). The Great Barrier Reef Foundation then uses this research that
has been collected to help propose laws. It uses the data to help create a better understanding of
what the proposed law needs to be to create better protections for the Great Barrier Reef. The
three main goals of the Great Barrier Reef Foundation is that first they “use independent science
to better understand the true condition of the Reef and the challenges it faces so we know where
to focus our efforts' '(Great Barrier Reef Foundation, 2020). The Great Barrier Reef Foundation
works closely with scientists to collect the proper data on the Great Barrier Reef. These goals and
actions demonstrate their scientific and ecologist values regarding the Great Barrier Reef. With
this data that is collected then the Great Barrier Reef Foundation can distribute the information
to the government, other scientists, and the news to publish. So that it gets the knowledge out to
the general public, this information then can be used to pass new policies to protect the Great
Barrier Reef. The second goal is to “inform and educate people about what needs to be done to
address the causes of the problem, including advising governments and industry.” (Great Barrier
Reef Foundation, 2020). This is done with many different community outreach programs. They
offer classes as well as volunteer opportunities to raise awareness. The third and final goal of the
Great Barrier Reef Foundation is to “take practical action to fund hard work and innovative
technologies from the best minds in Australia and beyond to protect the Reef.” (Great Barrier
Reef Foundation, 2020). This means that the Great Barrier Reef Foundation is working on
innovating the technology used to study the Great Barrier Reef as well as protect it.

Table 1: Stakeholder Perspectives

Stakeholder Representative Stakeholder Contributions Concerns
Examples Values

Government Prime Minister, Utilitarian Economic growth Economic failure due to

Queensland no Great Barrier Reef
Laws and regulations tourism or fish
Members of protect the Great Barrier production.
Parliament Reef while also
stimulating the economy

Environment Coral Reef Ecologists Scientific exploration Total ecological

Organizations Alliance collapse
Scientific Push for more regulations
Great Barrier Overfishing
Reef Community involvement
Foundation Coral Bleaching
Tourism Ecotourism Economic stimulation in Being unable to see the
Industry Australia Humanistic areas wild beauty due to the
Naturalistic destruction of the coral
Australian Helping decide which reef system.
tourists Aesthetic companies thrive based on
Moralistic where money is spent

Commercial North Queen Utilitarian Food production Harsh regulations will

Fishing Seafoods not allow them to fish.
Industry Moralistic Market stimulation
Overfishing

Discussion
The Great Barrier Reef Foundation and other stakeholders are all trying to address
impacts on the Great Barrier Reef caused by humans. Humans are the main cause behind water
pollution, chemicals, and the warming ocean temperature in Australia and throughout the
world’s oceans. All these factors are degrading the world’s beautiful coral reefs that are spread
all across the world. The good news is many humans are creating policies and legislation to help
minimize or stop these human impacts from causing as much harm to the coral ecosystems.
Protecting the Great Barrier Reef and coral reefs overall improves the health of all underwater
ecosystems. After reviewing the data and the specific issues facing the Great Barrier Reef and
other coral reefs around the world, these three policy options seem to be the best fit to protect
the Great Barrier Reef. These policy options can also be used as an example for other countries
that also want to protect their reef structures and are facing similar issues that the Great Barrier
Reef is also facing. The three policy options that are being proposed are the Environment
Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Amendment Great Barrier Reef, Banning sunscreen
with harmful chemicals, and Stop Dumping on the Great Barrier Reef, Bill. These policies will all
be evaluated based on four different criteria. The first is how the policy would reduce the
possibility of chemicals entering the ocean. The second criteria are the cost the policy has to the
government. The third criterion is the other environmental impacts that the policy reduces. The
final criteria are the benefits that the policy has for people.

Policy Option 1: Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Amendment

(Great Barrier Reef)

The first policy is the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation

Amendment Great Barrier Reef. This amendment would ban the building and development of a
port outside an existing port. The Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation
Amendment would limit the further development of pre-existing ports, while also stopping the
building of new ports along the coast. Ports and the shipping industry have many negative
effects on coral reefs. The main issues are grounding, anchoring, and oil spills. Grounding is
where ships accidentally run aground on the reef structure and get stuck. Anchoring is where
cargo ships drop their anchor offshore and sometimes it will land and damage coral reef
structures. Finally, there are oil spills or the accidental release of oil into the marine
environment. Oil is one of the most harmful pollutants as it can end up being deposited directly
on corals if the corals are shallow enough. This is harmful to corals because “once oil comes into
contact with corals, it can kill them or impede their reproduction, growth, behavior, and
development” (NOAA, 2019). The Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation
Amendment Great Barrier Reef will deny the minister the ability to approve any development
that does not have a positive impact on the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Site (Waters,
2013). It is an amendment to the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act
1999. This policy would not have a large effect on reducing chemicals in the water. However, it
could prevent it by stopping construction from happening near the water that could have these
chemicals run into the water. While also stopping the opening of new ports in untouched parts
of the coastline which will stop chemicals from being closer to the water in other areas as well. It
also has a positive impact on the criteria of other environmental impacts. It would stop the
building of new harbors that disrupt preexisting underwater life. The main stakeholders affected
by this policy are construction workers, shipping, and fishing. All of these groups are affected by
the amendment which would ban the building of new ports as well as the expansion of ports.
Which will then affect the economy in many different ways. It will affect construction or
expansion construction workers will be out of a new site to work on. The shipping industry will
be affected because that means there will be fewer ports for exports and imports while also
meaning they can’t be expanded to accommodate larger shipping boats. Fishing will be affected
because there will be no new ports for them to dock their boats at and expand their companies.

Policy option 2: Banning sunscreen with harmful chemicals

The second policy is the sunscreen ban, or the banning of sunscreen with harmful
chemicals such as Oxybenzone, Octinoxate, Octocrylene, Homosalate (Tarnas, 2021). The
original bill that this policy would be based on was just recently passed in Hawaii. So far it has
taken a while to have the policy enforced. However, the sale of brands that contain these
harmful chemicals is now illegal. Only time will tell how much of a positive or negative impact of
the coral reefs around the Hawaiian islands there will be. This should also be implemented in
Australia to help protect the Great Barrier Reef. These chemicals are commonly found in
sunscreen and are harmful to the Great Barrier Reef. This policy option would reduce the
number of chemicals that are entering the waters around Australia. Which would have a positive
impact on the coral degradation that is happening due to certain chemicals that are commonly
found in sunscreens (Tarnas, 2021). The criteria the sunscreen ban would mainly affect is the
reduction of chemicals while also having a positive impact on people (Magovern, 2021). It would
be a human benefit to switch to reef-safe sunscreen because more natural sunscreens will cause
less harm to the environment as well as people, while also promoting the reestablishment of the
reef which has many positive impacts for humans. The main stakeholder would-be tourists and
other sunscreen consumers, and sunscreen companies. Tourists would be affected because it
would be required to only bring reef-safe sunscreens into Australia. The only sunscreens that
would be being sold in Australia would have to be the reef-safe brands which would affect the
brands of sunscreen that the consumers can buy and use. It would cause sunscreen companies to
have to turn to a more green and eco-friendly method of providing sunscreen.

Policy option 3: Stop Dumping on the Great Barrier Reef Bill

The third and final policy suggestion is the Stop Dumping on the Great Barrier Reef Bill.
This bill is to stop the dumping of dredged material on or near the Great Barrier Reef World
Heritage site (Waters, 2013). It would mainly make adjustments to the Environment Protection
(Sea Dumping) Act of 1981. These new policies would crack down and impose stricter rules on
dumping dredged materials and other materials on or near the Great Barrier Reef. This also
imposes strict regulations on loading dredged materials (Waters, 2013). This would impose
stricter policies in MPA’s as well as possibly establish a wider area of MPA’s helping create more
protections from dumping of dredged materials. The biggest criteria it would affect would be
other environmental impacts and human benefits. This policy would affect other environmental
impacts by not allowing for large amounts of sediment to be dumped back into the water after
dredging occurs. This policy would have benefits for humans by helping cause cleaner, safer,
water near and around the Great Barrier Reef and the coast of Australia making the reef safer for
people to swim in and not have any health repercussions. The main stakeholders in this policy
would be the government as well as dredging companies. The government would then be forced
to protect the Great Barrier Reef from dredging and dumping. It would affect dredging
companies because this would limit the number of dredged materials that could be removed
from the water and force dredging companies to change the way they get rid of unwanted
material.

Table 2: Policy Options in Support of Recovery

Policy Option 1: Policy option 2: Policy option 3: Stop

Environment Banning sunscreen Dumping on the
Protection and with harmful Great Barrier Reef
Biodiversity chemicals such as Bill
Conservation Oxybenzone,
Amendment (Great Octinoxate,
Barrier Reef) Octocrylene,
Homosalate

Criteria 1: Reduce Would not reduce Would ban sunscreens Would stop harmful
Chemicals chemicals, it would just that contain these chemicals from being
stop environmental certain chemicals. That dumped into the ocean
harm in ports. is found responsible for off the coast of the
coral bleaching. Great Barrier Reef.

Criteria 2: Cost This is going to have a The cost will be overall This is going to have a
greater impact on the higher to the companies greater impact on the
government’s finances who have to find government’s finances
than the people. different ways to create than the people.
sunscreen without
these chemicals to sell.

Criteria 3: Other Would stop the building Also would stop these Would not allow for
Environmental of new harbors that chemicals from large amounts of
Impacts disrupt preexisting affecting other marine sediment to be dumped
underwater life. life that is affected by back into the water
these toxic chemicals. after dredging occurs.

Criteria 4: Human Protecting more areas More natural Cleaner, safer, water
Benefits for tourism to flourish. sunscreens. The start of near and around the
reestablishing the Great Great Barrier Reef and
Barrier Reef the coast of Australia
making it safer for
people to swim in and
not have any health
repercussions.
Recommendation
Overall the best policy is the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation
Amendment Great Barrier Reef seeing as how it will overall have a greater effect in protecting
the Great Barrier Reef from construction in ports. However, the sunscreen bill would also be a
good option as many tourists visit Australia and the sunscreens being sold in Australia may still
contain the harmful chemicals that are increasing the rate of bleaching (Tibbetts, 2008). The
same can be said about the dumping act. It has many positive benefits that could greatly affect
the many tour companies of the coral reef in many positive ways. However, it requires the
government to enforce it and patrol to protect it. Which would most likely not be something that
the government wants to hire new people to patrol the coast and enforce the dumping act. The
dumping act is a very good option; however, the overall impacts of dumping of dredged material
are not as high of an impact as the chemicals from sunscreen and the potential damages caused
by the construction of new ports. Overall the policy that is best suited and the most simple to
implement is the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Amendment Great
Barrier Reef. This policy has the most potential to protect the Great Barrier Reef. It has a variety
of different ways that it could positively affect the environment. While it may be the most costly
to the government, there needs to be less development of the coastline to help promote more
wildlife and push for an overall impact on the Great Barrier Reef. A way to mitigate the cost of
Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Amendment Great Barrier Reef policy
would be to impose a tax on shipping, mainly oil shipping that would help to pay the
government so that the reef wouldn’t be injured more. All of these policies should also then be
considered by different governments around the world who are interested in having a better way
to protect the reef structures near their countries. From there these foreign powers could decide
what policy would be the best policy for their country and coral reefs. Many different nations
that have coral reefs in their oceans look to Australia and the Great Barrier Reef for guidance.
These countries look for guidance on what these countries should be doing to protect their reefs
while also having a stable amount of tourists enjoy them.

Conclusion
The Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Amendment Great Barrier
Reef policy overall will have the greatest impact on stopping coral degradation in the form of
coral bleaching, grounding, anchoring, or affecting the coral’s reproductive system. This policy,
directly and indirectly, affects the health of the underwater ecosystem. It won’t affect coral
bleaching except by reducing emissions to some extent but it will have other benefits. The
Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Amendment Great Barrier Reef policy
would limit the opening of new ports and expansion of preexisting ports. This would curb the
number of large cargo ships that would be able to enter the waters near the Great Barrier Reef.
This is the first step towards having Australia set an example for how coral reefs should be
protected and managed for the sake of food production, as well as drawing in tourism, and
finally the right that animals have just to exist as they have for millions of years. This policy will
also indirectly affect the biodiversity of the Great Barrier Reef by limiting the amount of boat
traffic that can harm the coral structures. It will also protect areas that are harder to reach from
being overexploited by fishing or tourism if no ports are being built closer to these untouched
areas. The Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Amendment Great Barrier
Reef stop the possibility of ports being built near these untouched areas keeping them more
protected. While also limiting the number of new ships that are able to enter an area which will
hopefully help protect the reef from grounding, anchoring, and oil spills. This will also stop the
deterioration of the Great Barrier Reef and produce an example that many other countries can
then use as a basis for the protection of their reef ecosystems.
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