Grading statements — Long-term outlook
The values are likely to remain healthy and resilient for the foreseeable future with strong recovery at damaged locations. Additional management intervention is not required to maintain the values.
With only minor additional management intervention, the values are likely to remain generally healthy and resilient for the foreseeable future, with only some values showing signs of significant deterioration.
Without significant additional management intervention, some of the values will deteriorate in the next 25 years, and only a few values are likely to be healthy and resilient in the longer term.
Without urgent and effective additional management intervention, the values are likely to deteriorate rapidly with the loss of most values in the longer term.
or
Borderline Indicates where a component or criterion is considered close to satisfying the adjacent grading statement.
Confidence
Adequate high-quality evidence and high level of consensus
Limited evidence or limited consensus
Inferred, very limited evidence
Key habitats, species, and ecosystem processes remain healthy or capable of near-term recovery in the absence of acute disturbances. However, the threats affecting the Region’s ecosystem (natural heritage values) are increasing, compounding and expanding in scale. These are driven strongly by climate change and involve steadily increasing chronic threats, such as ocean acidification, as well as a rising probability of acute disturbances, such as marine heatwaves. Multi-jurisdictional solutions and on-ground management involving stakeholders and the community are highly valuable, but outcomes are being undermined by climate change. Current trajectories for global greenhouse gas emissions are not compatible with a healthy and resilient future Reef. The window of opportunity to secure a positive future for the Reef is closing rapidly, and strong, effective actions remain urgent at global to local scales.