Tourism Tropical North Queensland Chief Executive Officer
By Mark Olsen
Tourism Tropical North Queensland Chief Executive Officer
In a world first, the iconic Great Barrier Reef has been nominated as the first non-human recipient for a Lifetime Achievement Award – the highest environmental honour from the United Nations Environment Programme’s Champions of the Earth Awards.
Announced on World Earth Day recently at an industry gathering for the launch of the Tourism Tropical North Queensland-led Lifetime of Greatness Project, the nomination is championed by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority’s Reef Guardian Councils.
It is a collective effort involving collaboration with the communities of the Great Barrier Reef including Traditional Owners, marine biologists, the tourism industry and Reef Guardian Schools to nominate the World Heritage Area.
Sir David Attenborough is among the environmental titans to previously win this award, which is given to a living individual who has demonstrated decades of impact in protecting the earth and its inhabitants.
Only living individuals can win and an individual is defined as a distinct entity, so using UNESCO’s definition of the Great Barrier Reef as a globally outstanding and significant entity, the submission demonstrates that the Great Barrier Reef meets the entry requirements.
The supporting submission video features Traditional Owners speaking about the Great Barrier Reef being a teacher, healer and provider to First Nations communities for millennia.
Master Reef Guides and marine biologists have also backed the submission, drawing attention to the fact that the Great Barrier Reef protects more than 9,000 species of marine life, creating one of the most biodiverse environments on earth and brings millions of people together every year through sustainable initiatives.
Students from Newman Catholic College, which is part of the Reef Guardian Schools program, describe their wonder at learning about the Great Barrier Reef and the beauty of experiencing it first-hand.
The Great Barrier Reef is a mentor, leading by example in teaching us that you have got to work together for the future of our planet. A lifetime that great deserves to be recognised.
Show your support for the Great Barrier Reef’s nomination by visiting the website at alifetimeofgreatness.com and signing your support.
The Lifetime of Greatness Project is the second phase of Project Reef to drive visitation to the Great Barrier Reef by making sure people around the world understand that visiting the Reef is the best thing they can do for it.
This project has been made possible by Tourism Tropical North Queensland, and the grant funding received from the Australian Government, under the International Tourism Recovery Program administered by Austrade.
