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The Great Barrier Reef, one of Australia's first World Heritage Areas, was inscribed on the World Heritage List in recognition of its outstanding natural universal values:

-as an outstanding example representing the major stages in the earth's evolutionary history;

-as an outstanding example representing significant ongoing ecological and biological processes;

-as an example of superlative natural phenomena; and containing important and significant habitats for in situ conservation of biological diversity.

It is the world's largest World Heritage Area extending 2000 kilometres and covering an area of 35 million hectares on the north-east continental shelf of Australia. Bigger than the entire area of Italy, it is probably the best known marine protected area in the world. The Great Barrier Reef's great diversity reflects the maturity of the ecosystem, which has evolved over hundreds of thousands of years. It is the world's most extensive coral reef system and is one of the world's richest areas in terms of faunal diversity.

The Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area contains more than just coral reefs. It also contains extensive areas of seagrass, mangrove, soft bottom communities and island communities. The reef contains nesting grounds of world significance for the endangered green and loggerhead turtles. It is also a breeding area for humpback whales, which come from the Antarctic to give birth to their young in the warm waters.

The islands and cays support several hundred bird species, many of which have breeding colonies there. Reef herons, osprey, pelicans, frigate birds, sea eagles and shearwaters are among the numerous sea birds that have been recorded.

The World Heritage property is also of cultural importance, containing many middens and other archaeological sites of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander origin. Some notable examples occur on Lizard and Hinchinbrook Islands, and on Stanley, Cliff and Clack Islands where there are spectacular galleries of rock paintings.

There are over 30 historic shipwrecks in the area, and on the islands are ruins and operating lighthouses that are of cultural and historical significance.

About 98 per cent of the World Heritage Property is within the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, the remainder being Queensland waters and islands

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