Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Commentary
  • Published:

Securing the future of the Great Barrier Reef

Nature Climate Change volume 5, pages 508–511 (2015)Cite this article

Subjects

The decline of the Great Barrier Reef can be reversed by improvements to governance and management: current policies that promote fossil fuels and economic development of the Reef region need to be reformed to prioritize long-term protection from climate change and other stressors.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Relevant articles

Open Access articles citing this article.

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on Springer Link
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1: Long term changes in drivers or stressors affecting the Great Barrier Reef.
Figure 2: The GBR contains a globally significant population of dugong, which is a key element of its outstanding universal value.

References

  1. Bellwood, D. R., Hughes, T. P., Folke, C. & Nystrom, M. Nature 429, 827–833 (2004).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Brodie, J. & Waterhouse, J. Estuar. Coast. Shelf Sci. 104–105, 1–22 (2012).

  3. Great Barrier Reef Outlook Report 2014 (Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, 2014); http://elibrary.gbrmpa.gov.au/jspui/handle/11017/2855

  4. Berkelmans, R., De'ath, G., Kininmonth, S. & Skirving, W. J. Coral Reefs 23, 74–83 (2004).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. http://whc.unesco.org/en/decisions/6049%206049

  6. Brodie, J. et al. 2013 Scientific Consensus Statement: Land Use Impacts on Great Barrier Reef Water Quality and Ecosystem Condition (Reef Water Quality Protection Secretariat, 2013); http://go.nature.com/FwKfoh

    Google Scholar 

  7. Queensland Government Population Projections 2013 edn (Australian Bureau of Statistics, Australian Demographic Statistics, 2013); http://go.nature.com/ceQlpg

  8. Brodie, J. Estuar. Coast. Shelf Sci. 142, 1–3 (2014).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. State Party Report on the State of Conservation of the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area (Australia) (Commonwealth of Australia, 2014); http://go.nature.com/XNyMoc

  10. De'ath, G., Lough, J. M. & Fabricius, K. E. Science 322, 116–119 (2009).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Silverman, J. et al. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 144, 72–81 (2014).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Aragones, L. & Marsh, H. Pac. Conserv. Biol. 5, 277–288 (2000).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Fuentes, M. M., Limpus, C. J. & Hamann, M. Glob. Change Biol. 17, 140–153

  14. Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Act 1975 (Commonwealth of Australia, 2015); http://www.comlaw.gov.au/Series/C2004A01395

  15. McCook, L. J. et al. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 107, 18278–18285 (2010).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  16. Reef Trust Investment Strategy: Initiative Design and Phase 1 Investment 2014–2015 (Commonwealth of Australia, 2014); http://go.nature.com/jN7fKj

  17. Reef 2050 Long-Term Sustainability Plan (Commonwealth of Australia, 2014); http://go.nature.com/g4GDfU

  18. Response to the Draft Reef 2050 Long-Term Sustainability Plan (Australian Academy of Science, 2014); http://go.nature.com/jz4PHT

  19. Queensland's Agricultural Strategy: A 2040 Vision to Double Agricultural Production (Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, 2013); http://go.nature.com/whKBCu

  20. McGrath, C. Energy White Paper plans to burn, burn, burn it all. The Conversation (8 November 2012); http://go.nature.com/Uh7djT

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Terry P. Hughes and Jon C. Day are at the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland 4811, Australia,

    Terry P. Hughes & Jon C. Day

  2. Jon Brodie is at the Centre for Tropical Water and Aquatic Ecosystem Research, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland 4811, Australia,

    Jon Brodie

Authors
  1. Terry P. Hughes
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Jon C. Day
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Jon Brodie
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Terry P. Hughes.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Hughes, T., Day, J. & Brodie, J. Securing the future of the Great Barrier Reef. Nature Clim Change 5, 508–511 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1038/nclimate2604

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nclimate2604

This article is cited by

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing