Unpacked by Afar | Travel Smarter, More Responsibly
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In a new ongoing series, Afar is asking a deceptively simple question: What does a UNESCO World Heritage designation actually do? This episode starts in North Queensland, Australia, home to two UNESCO sites that sit side by side: the Great Barrier Reef and the Wet Tropics, which includes the Daintree Rainforest. First, host Aislyn Greene talks with Dr. Eric Fisher, a marine biologist and Biology Manager at GBR Biology, about why Great Barrier Reef snorkeling remains the most direct way to connect with a reef system that’s home to more than 600 kinds of coral, six of the world’s seven sea turtle species, and more than 1,500 species of fish. Fisher explains how a 1960s-70s campaign to stop oil mining on the reef led to the 1975 Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Act and, eventually, the reef’s 1981 UNESCO inscription—and why the reef has spent over a decade at the center of debate over whether it should be listed as “endangered” due to climate change, coral bleaching, and crown-of-thorns starfish outbreaks. Fisher also opens up about building GBR Biology, the team of marine biologists and First Nations culture guides who lead guided Great Barrier Reef snorkeling tours for the tourism