Conclusion - The Great Barrier Reef: An Environmental History - page 226

exposed. Island vegetation was also destroyed in other ways - such as by the
misuse of fire - and many changes in island vegetation have occurred due to the
introduction of exotic species, such as Lantana spp. and Opuntia spp. Similarly,
the animal populations of many islands have been altered by both the destruction
of native animals (particularly birds) and the introduction of exotic species of
animal (Chapter 13) .
Unprecedented exploitation of the Great Barrier Reef
Taken together, the environmental changes reconstructed in this topic form a
narrative of sustained, extensive damage to some coral reefs, islands and organisms
of the Great Barrier Reef as a result of the over-exploitation of resources and the
degradation and destruction of habitats. There is unequivocal evidence (both
documentary and oral) that some parts of the Great Barrier Reef have experienced
severe impacts - that have varied in their location and intensity - since European
settlement. Consequently, although the Great Barrier Reef remains one of the
best-protected coral reef ecosystems in the world, some of its habitats were clearly
far from pristine at the time of the formation of the GBRMP, in 1975. In large
part due to human activities, some coral reef areas have been degraded to the
extent that recovery to their former condition is now unlikely, and many other
reef areas have been affected to a lesser extent.
Similarly, there is abundant evidence that some islands of the Great Barrier
Reef - particularly Raine, Lady Elliot, Lady Musgrave, Fairfax, North West and
Holbourne Islands - were subjected to considerable exploitation and had been
significantly modified by the time the GBRMP was established. Moreover, some
of the impacts sustained by marine wildlife species in the Great Barrier Reef
have been severe and, whilst their ecological consequences may be difficult to
establish, the over-exploitation of some populations and species has substantially
depleted their numbers and increased their vulnerability to other environmental
changes. Overall, the evidence presented in this topic suggests that the Great
Barrier Reef was exploited earlier, for a longer period, in more locations and more
intensively than has previously been documented. The multiple human impacts
on the Great Barrier Reef that have occurred since European settlement amount
to an unprecedented period of exploitation of, and change in, the ecosystem.
In particular, this account illustrates the damage that can be inflicted on coral
reefs and their associated habitats and populations in the absence of effective
regulation, monitoring and management. Yet, in many cases, the degradation of
the Great Barrier Reef due to human activities continued for many years - and
sometimes for many decades - after the signs of decline were first recognised,
and even after regulations and restrictions of the most destructive practices were
introduced.
What is the relevance of a historical account of human activities and impacts
- many of which have now ceased (or at least are regulated) in the Great Barrier
Reef? This account can inform contemporary management of the ecosystem in