Reuters — Australia's Great Barrier Reef is in very poor condition because of climate change, overfishing and land clearing, a state agency said on Friday as it downgraded the reef's status to the lowest level, which could jeopardize its World Heritage status.
The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA) said the health of the world's largest coral reef system, off the northeast coast of Queensland state, had deteriorated since its last review, in 2014, but the problems the reef faces are not insurmountable.
"This report draws attention to the fact that the outlook for the Great Barrier Reef, the long-term outlook, is very poor — that's largely driven by climate change," GBRMPA's chief scientist, David Wachenfeld, told reporters in Sydney. "Despite that, with the right mix of local actions to improve the resilience of the system and global actions to tackle climate change in the strongest and fastest way possible, we can turn that around."
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