The Great Barrier Reef, a natural wonder in danger
This has been shown by a survey published in the Journal of Sustainable Tourism, a publication about sustainable tourism that explains that Almost 70% of visitors to the largest coral system in the world travel motivated by fear of its disappearance. In this way, it stands out as the fourth cause among the 15 that could be chosen in the questionnaire, only behind "discover new places and things", "rest and relax" and "break the routine".
The most curious thing is that the questions were carried out last 2015, when it was not yet known that the barrier had experienced its greatest bleaching to date, and the "only" reasons for fearing its end were global warming, coastal development, infestations of invasive starfish, and discharges from agriculture.
There are many accommodations dangerously close to the Great Barrier Reef
The bleaching phenomenon occurs when corals -which, for the unsuspecting, are animals- they get stressed because the temperature of the sea changes drastically or it becomes polluted. Then, the algae that covers the coral tissue and feeds on it in a symbiotic relationship, leaves the place, leaving it colorless (hence "bleaching") and turning it much weaker. According to scientists, unless carbon emissions into the atmosphere are radically cut, the oceans will acquire such high temperatures that the bleaching will be complete by mid-century, destroying the exceptional ecosystem of the place.
So things, what to do? Stop going to try to get him back on his feet? Hurry up so as not to miss one of the natural wonders of the world? Tourists seem to be opting for the latter, given the little boom that the area has experienced since some years. In fact, even airlines such as Australia's Qantas warn travelers of the perishability of the place, encouraging you to visit, and Time magazine listed it as ** one of the ten places to see before they disappear. **
With this, he feeds an industry that moves 5.4 billion Americans a year , on which they depend 60,000 people and that leads even the government to hide the data of mass money laundering of the coral. Thus, according to The Guardian, the Australian executive ordered hide any information about it in the latest United Nations report on climate change, alleging precisely the damage that could be done to the tourism sector.