Australian National Heritage List

Building off-plan, that is, in areas not covered by areas zoned for development under land plans, was first legally sanctioned in Greece 100 years ago, with the anniversary being less than a month away.

The U.N.'s cultural agency UNESCO welcomed on June 6 commitments from Australia to protect the Great Barrier Reef, with the government pledging 4.4 billion Australian dollars ($2.9 billion) to safeguard the natural wonder.

Australia unveiled a billion-dollar package to protect the climate-ravaged Great Barrier Reef on Jan. 28, hoping to prevent the vast network of corals from being removed from UNESCO's World Heritage list.

The Great Barrier Reef's outlook remains "very poor" despite coral recovery over the past year, Australian government scientists said on July 19, just days before a UNESCO ruling on the site's world heritage status.

The Great Barrier Reef should be added to a list of "in danger" World Heritage Sites, a U.N. committee recommended on June 22, prompting an angry response from Australia which said it had been blindsided by the move and blamed political interference.

Australia's Great Barrier Reef will receive A$500 million ($379.10 million) in new funding to restore water quality and protect the coral from starfish attacks, government ministers announced on April 29.

BBC - Australia has pledged A$500 million (£275m; $379m) to protect the World Heritage-listed Great Barrier Reef.

In recent years, the reef has lost 30% of its coral due to bleaching linked to rising sea temperatures and damage from crown-of-thorns starfish.

The funding will be used to reduce the runoff of agricultural pesticides and improve water quality.

Rising temperatures at Australia's Great Barrier Reef are causing more green turtles to be born female, which could lead to the species dying out, a new scientific study has found.

Coral bred in one part of the Great Barrier Reef was successfully transplanted into another area, Australian scientists said Sunday, in a project they hope could restore damaged ecosystems around the world.

Australia's under-pressure Great Barrier Reef is an asset worth Aus$56 billion (US$42 billion) and as an ecosystem and economic driver is "too big to fail," a study said on June 26.