Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Listing
The Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1981 due to its Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) including its unique natural attributes and enormous scientific and environmental importance.
Joint commitment to Reef protection
The Queensland Government works in partnership with the Australian Government to manage the Reef’s OUV.
The Australian and Queensland governments, along with private sector contributions, have committed more than $5 billion from 2014-15 to 2029-30 to implement conservation and protection measures. Guided by the Reef 2050 Long-Term Sustainability Plan, these efforts aim to urgently address key threats to the Reef’s resilience and ability to adapt to a changing climate and other stressors.
The Reef’s importance
World Heritage sites are places that are important to and belong to everyone, no matter where they are located. They have universal value that is greater than the importance they hold for one particular nation. They are the best examples of the world’s cultural and natural heritage and must have values that are outstanding and universal.
As the world’s most extensive coral reef system, the Great Barrier Reef was recognised as a globally outstanding and significant entity. The listing covers an area of 348,000 square kilometres, stretching from the low water mark along the mainland coast up to 250 kilometres offshore. It includes vast shallow inshore areas, mid-shelf and outer reefs, extending beyond the continental shelf to oceanic waters over 2000 metres deep.
Collectively the landscapes provide some of the most spectacular maritime scenery in the world, including more than 3000 coral reefs, 600 continental islands, 300 coral cays and about 150 inshore mangrove islands. The diversity of species and habitats, and their interconnectivity, make the Reef one of the richest and most complex natural ecosystems on earth. No other World Heritage property contains such biodiversity.
Reviews of World Heritage properties
The UNESCO World Heritage Committee regularly reviews the state of conservation of all properties on the World Heritage List. It can place a property on an ‘in danger’ list if it believes the property is threatened by serious and specific dangers.
The World Heritage Committee has considered the state of conservation of the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area since 2011. In its decisions, the World Heritage Committee requested the Australian Government undertake a range of measures to ensure the Outstanding Universal Value of the Great Barrier Reef is not compromised.
International concerns about the Great Barrier Reef are in response to the declining long-term outlook for the Reef and the urgent need to address climate change and ongoing water quality issues.
UNESCO’s most recent World Heritage Committee 46th session adopted the draft decision to keep the Reef off the ‘in danger’ list on 25 July 2024 and requested a Progress Report be submitted by 1 February 2025. This Progress Report was submitted by the Australian Government on 31 January 2025 and will be followed by an updated report on the State of Conservation of the Great Barrier Reef to be submitted by 1 February 2026.
Further information
- Queensland Reef Water Quality Program
- Reef 2050 Long-Term Sustainability Plan
- Commercial fishing management
- 2022 Scientific Consensus Statement
- 2024 Great Barrier Reef Outlook Report
- AIMS Long-Term Monitoring Program
- Reef Joint Field Management Program
- Traditional Owner Implementation Plan