Australia said Friday it was confident it had done enough to prevent the United Nations from listing the Great Barrier Reef, the world's biggest coral reef ecosystem, as being 'in danger'.
Amid concerns about planned coastal developments, including ports, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) is set to announce overnight a draft decision on the site, which teems with marine life.
Australia has recently ordered a ban on the century-old practice of dumping dredge waste -- which conservationists says smothers corals and sea grasses -- across most of the reef, and funded efforts to improve water quality.
Queensland state, the gateway to the reef, has also promised to introduce laws to limit port development as it balances environmental concerns with the needs of the resources industry.
The Great Barrier Reef, which covers an area of 348,000 square kilometers off Australia's east coast and contains some 2,500 individual reefs, was listed as a World Heritage Site in 1981.
Paris-based UNESCO says it provides some of the world's most spectacular maritime scenery and one of the richest ecosystems for fish, birds, crustaceans and other marine life.
But in 2011 it declared "extreme concern" at the approval of liquefied natural gas processing and port facilities within the site and subsequently warned the reef could be deemed "in danger".
Queensland Environment Minister Steven Miles said UNESCO had indicated to the state government that it had taken significant steps to protect the site which faces threats from farming run-off, coral-eating crown-of-thorns starfish and climate change.
Greenpeace said successive governments' emphasis on expanding Queensland's resources industry had put the reef at risk.
UNESCO is due to deliver its final ruling in June.
PHOTO: An aerial view of the Great Barrier Reef off the coast of the Whitsunday Islands, along the central coast of Queensland.
CREDIT: AFP Photo/Sarah Lai.