Great Barrier Reef Off Endangered World Heritage List

Despite threats from climate change and poor water quality, the Great Barrier Reef off the coast of Australia has escaped classification as an endangered World Heritage Site, at least for the time being, Andeas Landwehr reported for Deutsche Presse-Agentur (dpa).

The responsible committee of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) decided on Friday in Fuzhou, China to postpone the decision on the world's largest reef until 2023. The committee followed Australia's request for a delay, with a majority of the 21 member countries on its side.

Australia is now to submit a new report on the condition and conservation of the Great Barrier Reef before the committee will again discuss a potential Red List entry.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) emphasized that the reef already met "all criteria" for a listing as "endangered."

In the resolution, the World Heritage Committee also referred to a 2019 report by Australia that said the outlook had worsened from "poor" to "very poor." Water quality also needs to be improved to create opportunities for reef recovery.

The environmental organization Greenpeace sharply criticized Australia. "The Australian government has once again managed to get away with a black eye - that's shocking", said marine biologist Sandra Schoettner. "Strong climate and biodiversity protection can no longer wait until 2023."

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