Australia Is on the Verge of Losing Its Great Barrier Reef

The Great Barrier Reef is one of the most amazing structures of the natural world. Tourists from all the four corners of the Earth come to Australia to see the breathtaking underwater views. However, there has recently been an unexpected number of tourists in Australia who don’t want to miss their last chance to see the Great Barrier Reef, as environmentalists warn that the mighty structure won’t last much longer.

Specialists have been predicting the death of the Great Barrier Reef for at least a year. A series of cause-effect relations led to this unfortunate denouement. Researchers explain that it is climate change the factor which caused water to become warmer and warmer. The unexpectedly high temperatures affected corals to such an extent that they caused the phenomenon of coral bleaching. Hurricanes are also an active factor which determines the rapid extinction of coral reefs.

While some of the studies claim that about half of the Great Barrier Reef is endangered, more recent research points out that reality is much worse than that. According to new research, almost ninety percent of the vast coral structure has already been affected.

While environmentalists face one of the greatest challenges in the carriers, namely trying to save Australia’s Great Barrier, the economy seems to take advantage of the situation. Tourists are rushing to Australia to make sure they have the lifetime opportunity of seeing the Great Barrier Reef.

Australian statistics show that the tourists’ numbers were increased by seventy percent last year alone. The increasing number of visitors eager to see the dying coral system is a common phenomenon called “last-chance tourism.” The term refers to sites that can be visited for the last time, as they are endangered by factors that will eventually lead to their disappearance.

Specialists observed the phenomenon of last-chance tourism with other destinations as well, such as the Galapagos Islands and Maldives.

Scientists have different opinions on how the crowds of visitors affect the coral reef. Some of them are optimistic because they believe that a large number of tourists visiting the dying Great Barrier Reef will draw the authorities’ attention and determine them to finance recovery programs. On the other hand, there are other specialists who think that excessive visits at the ill reefs will only manage to harm them more. Intense tourism also implies more gas emissions, which contribute to pollution.

Image courtesy of: Flickr