She was hot.

Australia avoided this Friday that Unesco inscribes the Great Barrier Reef on its list of World Heritage sites in danger.

The World Heritage Committee, which is currently meeting under the chairmanship of China, has indeed decided to postpone a decision in this regard, after intense lobbying by Australia, which was opposed to it.

Canberra feared that this would undermine the tourist attraction of the coral reef, which stretches over 2,300 km and generates $ 4.8 billion in revenue for the tourism sector.

Global warming, industrial activities, invasive species

The United Nations agency published in June the recommendations of its experts and advisory bodies which suggest that this unique ecosystem, listed as World Heritage in 1981, be placed on the list of sites "in danger" because of its deterioration. A deterioration largely due to the recurrence of episodes of coral bleaching. The latter is caused by the rise in water temperature - a consequence of global warming - which causes the expulsion of symbiotic algae that give the coral its bright color.

In addition to global warming, the Great Barrier is threatened by industrial or agricultural activities or by the

purple acanthaster

, an invasive starfish.

The

acanthaster planci

- nicknamed "crown of thorns" or more facetiously "mother-in-law's cushion" - feeds almost exclusively on corals, can reach a meter in diameter and is endowed with quills whose venom is toxic to humans. .

In 2015, Australia had already obtained a reprieve after a similar lobbying campaign and by promising billions of dollars in investments to protect the reefs.

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  • Biodiversity

  • Australia

  • Unesco World Heritage

  • Planet

  • Global warming

  • Coral