Position statement

The Great Barrier Reef of Australia (GBR) is undergoing massive degradation due to bleaching and the death of the coral organisms. This is in turn severely affecting the marine ecosystem, and is affecting the livelihood of thousands of Australians (Bartley et al. 2017). The aim of this paper is to propose a plan for eco tourism in the area and involving in the activity of conserving the coral reef as a part of sustainable development and a part of the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) of the company. Discussed below is the overview of the position of the company in the issue of coral bleaching, a review of scientific literature and the importance of a policy to promote eco tourism in the region and help in coral conservation.

• Who do you work for? Where?

Presently I am employed by a tourism company in Australia, and it aims to specialize in eco-tourism in the protected marine environment of the Great Barrier Reef. The organization aims to develop sustainable and environmentally friendly approach towards tourism in this protected region, as well as assist the Australian Government in the activities to manage the Coral Reefs (Huang and Coelho 2017).

· Is the level local, national, or international?

The company is Australian, based in the Queensland region.

• What are the roles and responsibilities of the agency?

My employers are actively involved in environmental friendly tourism in the Great Barrier Reef region, helping to develop awareness towards the destruction of the valuable natural heritage of the country, educating tourists as well as being involved in conservation practice of important keystone species such as turtles and dugongs who play an integral part in the marine coral ecosystem and the protection of the coral reefs from coral predators (Huang and Coelho 2017; Moritz et al. 2017; Goldberg et al. 2018).

• What are the values/interests of the agency? 

The organization aims to develop a sustainable tourism program for the Great Barrier Reef, that can help the tourists to witness the existential threat faced by the Great Barrier Reef, and involve their participation in the approaches to preserve the reef from further destruction. The organization feels that it is responsible as a tourism agency to help to raise awareness and be involved in strategies that can ensure the long term sustenance of the GBR as a part of its Corporate Social Responsibility (Gayle and Warner 2018).

• What are the internal and external influences upon the agency/business?

The external factors that influences the organization includes the Australian Policies, Change in Global Climate, trends in the tourism sector and the involvement of other organizations in the protection of the GBR. The internal factors that influence the organization are the CSR policies, the interest of the stakeholders and the objective of the organization towards eco-friendly tourism (Huang and Coelho 2017).

• What are the specific goals and objectives of the policy issue or problem to be addressed?

The main objectives or goals of the organization are:

• Promoting an eco-friendly tourism approach in the GBR
• Promoting awareness of the coral bleaching that threatens the GBR
• Educating the tourists on the importance of conserving the GBR
• Supporting local communities in approaches to protect GBR
• Working with the government in the conservation of keystone species

(Huang and Coelho 2017)

· How will your plan address these?

The main strategies that the organization have identified to achieve the objectives identified above includes:

• Conducting trips to some of the GBR areas permitted for tourism.
• Conducting scuba and snorkelling activities near the reefs
• Involving environmental educators and volunteers to educate the local communities as well tourists on the damage to the coral reef and how to best protect them.
• Developing handouts for tourists
• Conducting seminars and workshops on strategies to protect the coral reef
• Developing captive breeding sites for turtles and dugongs

• What opportunities, issues and challenges face your sector?

The most significant challenge faced by the tourism in the GBR area is the rapid destruction of the coral reef due to bleaching. The challenge is further aggravated due to human activities (such as overfishing, land based pollutions, shipping accidents) which are difficult to manage. Additional challenge to promote eco tourism in the GBR area also comes from Australian Policies that restrict the tourism activities in the region. Environmental and eco friendly tourism is on a rise in popularity across the world and also gets support from both the public as well as the government, which is a significant opportunity in this sector (Reside et al. 2016).

Background Context

The main focus is on the GBR, which is located north of Australia along the coastline of Queensland. The reef is more than 2300 km in length and is a biodiversity hotspot as well as an important tourist attraction (Authority 2014).

GBR is one of the biggest tourist attractions in Australia, drawing at least two million tourists every year from across the world. The coral reef also provides employment for more than sixty thousand people from the local communities directly or indirectly and earns revenues of approximately AUD 55.8 billion for Australia. The number of people that are supported by the GBR far exceeds the total number of workers in the coal mines of Queensland, and the destruction of the reef has been estimated to increase unemployment of the entire region by 1.3% and the loss of more than 30,000 jobs (Gooch et al. 2018).

The GBR is an important source of economy to the local communities as well as greater Australia. GBR is also a site of Australia’s Natural Heritage, and has been named the UNESCO World Heritage Site. GBR is a hotspot of marine ecosystem and an important biodiversity zone and the home of hundreds of marine species. Supporting the conservation of GBR can help to improve tourism in that area. GBR conservation can also help to implement the CSR policies of my agency and help to improve the company’s reputation (Morrison 2017).

Land Based Pollution:

Studies have shown that pollutants from land in the form of agricultural diffuse pollution, pollutants from the mines and dumping of organic waste into the ocean waters have resulted in a significant damage to the coral reef. The phosphate rich organic matter and other organic waste that enters the water cause nutrient enrichment. This enrichment of nutrient causes an explosive growth in the population of the phytoplankton and growth of algae. These algae start to grow on the coral reef causing its degradation (Bartley et al. 2017).

Fertilizers from the land that flows into the ocean water due to leaching of the upper soil layer additionally leads to the bleaching process of the corals at it affects the biology of the coral organisms. In addition, various pesticides that are also used in the farms are washed up into the coral reef causing more damage to the marine life forms (Wilson and Verlis 2017).

Fishing Activities:

Increase in the fishing activities in the coral areas have lead to a rapid decline in the number of coral fishes, thereby damaging the biodiversity and the delicate ecosystem of the great barrier reef. Overfishing therefore creates an unsustainable situation, and has adversely affected the marine ecosystem. Studies have shown that too many fishing companies operate in the GBR area, and the restrictions imposed are too inadequate (Wolff et al. 2018).

Predators of the Coral Reef:

Several species of molluscs and echinoderms are known to be predators of the coral reefs. Some of these species includes Drupels (snail), sea urchin (echinoderm), Crown of thorns starfish (echinoderm) feeds on the coral species. Increase in the number of these species has resulted in the rapid destruction of the coral reef in many parts of the GBR. The predators consume the tissues of the coral reef thereby killing the organisms leaving behind just the dead outer part which later gets covered with algae. Increase in the population of the coral predators have been linked to the decline in the population of species like turtles and dugongs who feeds on the coral predators or eat the algae growing on them (Vercelloni et al. 2017).

Strategies to promote coral health and conserve coral reef

Strategies to promote coral health and conserve coral reef:

Studies have shown that conservation of the coral reef can be supported by increasing the number of coral predators, reducing the amount of pollutants that enter the ocean from land, reducing the extent of fishing in the GRB area as well as educating the local communities about the importance of corals and the needs to avoid dumping organic waste and garbage in the sea water (Amir and Mohamed 2017).

Developing a plan or policy that can support the conservation activity to protect the GBR and promote eco tourism in the region has several significances. The most important aspect of conserving the coral reefs of the GBR is that it can help the tourism industry, as the GBR is an important tourist destination and preserving the place is of utmost importance. The reef is also has a rich biodiversity of marine species and therefore is vital for the marine ecosystem. Preserving this ecosystem can further help to attract more tourists. The GBR has an economic value, as it supports employment of thousands of people and provides a source of income for the fishing industries. The reefs are natural catchment areas that can safeguard the coastal places from the effects of tidal waves. Eco Tourism can be used as a platform to develop appreciation and respect for the natural beauty the coral reefs has to offer and also help to discourage activities such as dumping garbage in the ocean (Huang and Coelho 2017).

· Why is the plan needed?

Developing an effective plan that can help in the efforts to conserve the coral reef and also help eco tourism in the areas have several important implications for the agency. Through conservation of the reef, the agency can be actively participating with the government and take actions that can help the management of the coral reef. These activities can also support recognition for the agency from governmental as well as international institutions and thereby improve the market value of the company. Such aspects can support an increase in the number of customers of clients, support better generation of revenue and also help to increase investment to further develop its activities in coral conservation. Planning for eco tourism in the coral region of GBR can support education of the tourists, help them to understand the effects of coral bleaching and thus improving awareness of the situation. This awareness can further support the environment friendliness approach and help to reduce the disposal of garbage in the sea water. The captive breeding sites can also attract additional tourists as well as help to increase the population of these species and help to minimize the population of the coral predators (Moritz et al. 2017).

The Australian Government has developed several plans, polices and legislations that aim to help the conservation of the GBR. Some of the most important involvements are discussed below:

Legislations to support the management of the GBR:

The government has implemented several legislations that support the management, conservation and protection of the coral reef and the marine areas adjoining the reef. All the acts aims to reduce the various stressors that affect the coral health reduce the factors that affect the population and growth rate of the corals, minimize the impact of human activities in the region and helping to improve the resilience of the coral reef. These legislations are: Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Act 1975, Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999, Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Amendment Act 2007 and Great Barrier Reef Marine Park and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2008 (Little et al. 2017).

The long term sustainability plan aims to increase the sustainability of the coral reef, mitigate the effects of human activities in the GBR area and increase the resilience of the GBR from further degradation and damage. The plan involves funding of over 130 million AUD from the federal and state governments to support the conservation activities; restricting dredging activities in the harbor projects; implementing best practice guidelines for shipping companies, fisheries and sea ports; implementing the process of independent reporting and reviews on compliance to the policies and monitoring the coral health periodically and addressing the concerns on degradation of the water quality, climatic change and destruction of the marine ecosystem. In the sustainability plan additional strategies such as programs to conserve turtles and dugongs, controlling the population of coral predators and improving the water quality of the oceans (Addison et al. 2015).

This organization is jointly funded by both the government and private organizations that help in the conservation of the coral reef help in the protection of the coral reef, improving the marine ecosystem, and control coral predator population (Wynveen and Sutton 2015).

Management of shipping activities:

The government also developed plan to manage shipping activities in the GBR region through the North East Shipping Management Program in order to reduce the frequency of shipping accidents and to implement strategies and action plan to address any such incident (such as grounding of ship, oil spillage, breach of ship haul and leakage of chemicals into the ocean water) that can adversely affect coral health (Addison et al. 2015).

· Who are the stakeholders?

The coral reef serves an important source of income for the local community, fishing companies, tourism companies, organizations working towards the conservation of the coral reef as well as the governmental agencies, all of whom are the potential stakeholders in the conservation of the coral reef (Addison et al. 2015).

· What are the key trends that influence this issue?

The current rate of degradation and damage due to bleaching of the coral reefs in the GBR region are mainly caused by some significant trends such as the change in the global climate and global warming, increase in fishing in the coral region in an unsustainable way thereby adversely affecting the coral ecosystem, decline in the population of turtles and dugongs and increase in the population of coral predators, diseases of the coral reef, impact of human activities leading to increase in pollution of the marine water, rapid development of the coastal regions (development of ports and harbours) as well as mining operations in the adjoining regions of GBR (Cheal et al. 2017; Machendiranathan et al. 2016). Also, there is an increasing in the appreciation towards eco friendly tourism, which can be advantageous for the business.

· What are the challenges and how can the agency respond?

As tourism agency, is difficult to be involved in every aspect of conservation of the coral reef that has been implemented and outlined by the Australian Government and many independent agencies. Most significant challenges are to address the socioeconomic conditions and global climatic changes that are causing stress to the coral reefs of Australia. Additionally, other challenges such as overfishing, pollution from land change in the quality of water and shipping accidents are difficult to be controlled by the agency. However, the agency can actively participate in the development of understanding and awareness about the condition of the GRB, the effects of human activities (such as dumping of garbage and pollutants in the ocean) and best practices to mitigate these problems through eco tourism and education (Dulvy and Kindsvater 2015). The agency can also support the resiliency and long term health of the coral reefs by taking part in the conservation of species like turtles (that eats coral predators) and dugongs (that feeds on the algae) which can control the population of the coral predators. The agency can also conduct surveillance of the GBR area from time to time, collecting information regarding the water quality, conducting surveys of important species in the coral ecosystem of GBR and sharing such information with the governmental agencies thereby supporting their efforts to protect the GBR (Houk et al. 2015).

· What are possible reasons for government/business intervention?

As discussed earlier, the GBR is an important source of economy and employment for the local communities, the state and federal government, as also is an important site of natural heritage and marine biodiversity. Due to these reasons, the government of Australia has a serious involvement in the conservation and management of the coral reefs (Magris et al. 2017).

· What are the likely desirable effects, benefits and/or outcomes from the plan?

Protecting the coral reef can therefore help to sustain the GBR and support the economy and employment for thousands of people, safeguard the coastlines and coastal cities from tidal waves, and protect the marine ecosystem as well as support research activities on the coral reef (Magris et al. 2017).

· What are some possible policy/plan approaches? 

The actions that can be utilized by my agency to protect the corals and promote eco tourism in the region includes educating the tourists and local communities on the importance of coral reef and how to prevent their degradation, involving in captive breeding programs for turtles and dugongs can help to control the population of coral predators, using eco friendly tourism approach that can increase awareness of the people and improve environmental sensitivity, conducting workshops with educators for local communities and tourists on strategies to minimize the hazards of bleaching of the coral reef, helping the government in the monitoring process and submitting reports on a regular basis. The agency aims to develop and maintain behavioural modifications on a personal and individualized level by increasing their awareness to the problem and thus contributing to the effort to protect the GBR (Chavanich et al. 2015).

· Which instruments might be appropriate for your plan? 

Different instruments can be involved in the process such as advocacy for coral conservation as well as legal and legislative instruments that can support the agency in its work. Also, non-governmental organization focused on coral conservation can be of significant help. All of these instruments can be utilized by my agency to achieve its purpose (Ban et al. 2015).

· Could several instruments be used more effectively?

Simultaneous usage of all the instruments can be useful to ensure an overall success of the plan. These instruments can support the business to be involved in the action to preserve the coral reef in a better manner.

· What types of resources are required?

The main resources needed for the plan includes monitory resource, human resource and technologies (Ban et al. 2015). All these instruments can provide a come complete support to the organization/business to develop eco tourism in the area. Additionally, another important resource that is needed is time, as the overall success of the plan would need a long term planning as well.

· What are the advantages or disadvantages of the policy/plan? 

The advantage of protecting the coral reef and promoting eco tourism in the region is the long term sustainability of the agency in the tourism industry, positive publicity and increase in the number of clients and customer, which additionally can help to increase funding. The disadvantage is the short and medium term requirement of investments and resources to develop conservation plan for turtles and dugongs. However these sites can later act as tourist sites supporting the inflow of capital Chavanich et al. 2015).

· How can the policy/plan provide direction?

The structured planning approach can help to develop action plans that can be strategically and systematically implemented to support the conservation of the coral reef. The planning can provide direction on which actions to be taken first and which to be taken last and helps to follow the overall progression of the process (Dunn et al. 2018). Thus it can be implied that effective planning process can help to orient the activities of the organization towards future growth and development.

· What is the planning process?

The planning will be developed through the following steps: Setting up goals, identifying outcomes, identifying action plan to address the outcome, measurement of the outcome to assess its success and developing further improvement plans. The plan will be developed with keeping in mind the perspective of stakeholders as well as the policies and legislations of the government (Ban et al. 2015).

· How will it be done?

The planning will be done through consultation with stakeholder and other consultants (nabbed below), and after meetings to identify the best marketing strategies and best practices.

· Who will be consulted? 

The agency will consult with the stakeholders, local community, biologists, and tourism advisors, non-governmental and governmental agencies (Dunn et al. 2018).

· How will the plan/policy be implemented?

The agency will perform the following activities for implementation:

• Educate the tourists and local communities
• Promote eco tourism and environmentally friendly approaches
• Captive breeding of turtles and dugongs
• Conducting workshops and seminars from time to time
• Promoting awareness though activities like snorkelling and scuba diving

· How will it be reviewed? 

The review of the success of the plan can be done through assessment of the success of the eco tourism promotions, increase in environmental awareness of the tourists and local communities, reduction in the population of coral predators and increase in turtle and dugong populations (Chavanich et al. 2015).

· How will the success or lack of success be determined 

The main indices for understanding the success or failure of the program are the overall health of the coral reef of GBR, populations of coral predators and keystone species like turtle and dugong as well as the awareness shown by the local communities (Dunn et al. 2018).

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