<P> World Heritage Committee meeting will take place in Krakow, Poland, in July 2017 . UNESCO, in a draft decision published in June 2017 as part of the agenda for the meeting, expressed serious concern about the impact of coral bleaching on the Great Barrier Reef . The draft decision also warned Australia that it will not meet the targets of the Reef 2050 report without considerable work to improve water quality . </P> <P> Climate change has implications for other forms of reef life--some fish's preferred temperature range leads them to seek new habitat, thus increasing chick mortality in predatory seabirds . Climate change will also affect the population and sea turtle's available habitat . </P> <P> Bleaching events in benthic coral communities (deeper than 20 metres or 66 feet) in the Great Barrier reef are not as well documented as those at shallower depths, but recent research has shown that benthic communities are just as negatively impacted in the face of rising ocean temperatures . Five Great Barrier Reef species of large benthic corals were found bleached under elevated temperatures, affirming that benthic corals are vulnerable to thermal stress . </P> <P> Another key threat faced by the Great Barrier Reef is pollution and declining water quality . The rivers of north eastern Australia pollute the Reef during tropical flood events . Over 90% of this pollution comes from farm runoff. 80% of the land adjacent to the Great Barrier Reef is used for farming including intensive cropping of sugar cane, and major beef cattle grazing . Farming practices damage the reef due to overgrazing, increased run - off of agricultural sediments, nutrients and chemicals including fertilisers, herbicides and pesticides representing a major health risk for the coral and biodiversity of the reefs . Sediments containing high levels of copper and other heavy metals sourced from the Ok Tedi Mine in Papua New Guinea are a potential pollution risk for the far northern Great Barrier Reef and Torres Strait regions . </P>

Australia's great barrier reef as well as low coral islands in the pacific are vulnerable to