Water Quality and Management in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park

Use of the Great Barrier Reef Region for tourism, the economic value of Reef tourism to Queensland, and the value placed by society on natural settings has been increasing rapidly during the 1980's. The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority has the role of providing for reasonable use of this valuable resource. The concern for reefal water quality is discussed in terms of enhanced nutrient levels in the inshore GBR and the low tolerance of corals to nutrients. Findings of a recent Workshop on Nutrients in the Great Barrier Reef Region are described. This paper summarises the Authority's role in ensuring information exchange, appropriate research, and management in the area of water quality management and tourism.

Download Full-text

Management of Water Quality in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park

Water Science & Technology ◽

10.2166/wst.1989.0024 ◽

1989 ◽

Vol 21 (2) ◽

pp. 31-38 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Simon Woodley

Keyword(s):

Water Quality ◽

Coral Reef ◽

Great Barrier Reef ◽

Barrier Reef ◽

Management Issue ◽

Reef System ◽

Marine Park ◽

World Heritage List ◽

The World ◽

Coral Reef System

The Great Barrier Reef is the largest coral reef system in the world. It is recognised and appreciated worldwide as a unique environment and for this reason has been inscribed on the World Heritage List. The Reef is economically-important to Queensland and Australia, supporting substantial tourism and fishing industries. Management of the Great Barrier Reef to ensure conservation of its natural qualities in perpetuity is achieved through the establishment of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park. The maintenance of water quality to protect the reef and the industries which depend on it is becoming an increasingly important management issue requiring better knowledge and possibly new standards of treatment and discharge.

Download Full-text

Adaptive modelling for adaptive water quality management in the Great Barrier Reef region, Australia

Environmental Modelling & Software ◽

10.1016/j.envsoft.2009.09.013 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 25 (11) ◽

pp. 1291-1301 ◽

Cited By ~ 38

Author(s):

Tim Lynam ◽

John Drewry ◽

Will Higham ◽

Carl Mitchell

Keyword(s):

Water Quality ◽

Quality Management ◽

Great Barrier Reef ◽

Water Quality Management ◽

Barrier Reef ◽

Adaptive Modelling

Download Full-text

Oil Spills in the Great Barrier Reef Region

International Oil Spill Conference Proceedings ◽

10.7901/2169-3358-1991-1-55 ◽

1991 ◽

Vol 1991 (1) ◽

pp. 55-60 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Wendy Craik

Keyword(s):

Great Barrier Reef ◽

Oil Spill ◽

Oil Spills ◽

Environmental Damage ◽

Barrier Reef ◽

National Plan ◽

Marine Park ◽

History Of ◽

Sparse Population ◽

Reasonable Use

ABSTRACT The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority is charged with conservation of the Great Barrier Reef while allowing reasonable use to continue. One of the major challenges facing the authority is the risk of a major oil spill in the Great Barrier Reef region. An oil spill contingency plan, Reefplan, developed for the Great Barrier Reef region and part of Torres Strait, is a component of the Australian National Plan to Combat Pollution of the Sea by Oil. The authority provides scientific advice to the on-scene coordinator, who is in charge of responding to any spill. This paper reviews the history of oil spills in the Great Barrier Reef and discusses the authority's role in prevention and preparation for oil spills. The difficulty of coping with a large spill and the issue of environmental damage are highlighted, given the relatively remote nature of the region, the sparse population, and the logistic difficulties of working in such an area.

Download Full-text