Belize Barrier Reef
| Barrier Reef Nature Reserve of Belize | |
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UNESCO world heritage 
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Great Blue Hole , Belize |
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| National territory: |
 Belize
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| Type: | nature |
| Criteria : | vii, ix, x |
| Surface: | 96,300 ha |
| Reference No .: | 764 |
| UNESCO region : | Latin America and the Caribbean |
| History of enrollment | |
| Enrollment: | 1996 (session 20) |
| Red list : | 2009-2018 |
The Belize Barrier Reef ( . English Belize Barrier Reef) in the Caribbean is the longest barrier reef in the northern hemisphere and the world's second largest reef system - after the Australian Great Barrier Reef .
geography
The Belize Barrier Reef extends over 256 km from the Yucatán Peninsula past Belize (formerly British Honduras) and the Islas de la Bahía to the east of the Honduran north coast. About 450 Cayes , from coral and sand deposits formed small islands line the reef . The best known are Ambergris Caye , Caye Caulker , Blackadore Caye, and Long Caye ; St. George's Caye is historically significant .
fauna and Flora
The reef is home to over 350 species of fish. There are around 65 species of coral . The inventory of the fauna and flora of the reef is far from complete. An estimated 90% of the reef's small invertebrates have not yet been explored.
use
The reef has been fished since Mayan times . Due to its abundance of fish, it has also been used for commercial fishing since the 20th century, as well as anglers. In 2010, fishing with trawlers was banned off the coast of Belize.
Since the 1950s, the reef has been increasingly used for many types of water sports, particularly by divers and snorkelers.
natural reserve
Some of the islands and reef sections are protected as national parks or marine reserves. These are the national parks Bacalar Chico and Laughing Bird Caye , the national monuments Great Blue Hole and Half Moon Caye and the reserves South Wather Caye , Glover's Reef and Sapodilla Cayes . These areas are also on the 1996 UNESCO list of World Heritage .
The coral reefs in Belize are also suffering from coral bleaching . Mangroves were also cut down on a large scale. The barrier reef of Belize was therefore placed on the UNESCO Red List of Endangered World Heritage . In 2015, Belize banned sea oil drilling. This step was one of the conditions for removal from the Red List. On June 26, 2018, the reef was removed from the red list again.
Atolls
With three out of four Caribbean atolls , Belize has the highest density of such atolls in the entire Caribbean. The Great Blue Hole in the middle of the Lighthouse Reef is about 80 km from Belize City . Originally it was a cave that collapsed when land sank into the sea around 10,000 years ago. A circle with a diameter of 330 meters is visible on the surface of the sea. The Blue Hole is 124 meters deep and studded with stalactites and stalagmites . Made famous by Jacques Cousteau's TV movie, it is Belize's most famous diving area .
See also
Web links
- Entry on the UNESCO World Heritage Center website ( English and French ).
- Data sheet of the UNEP-WCMC (English)
Individual evidence
- ^ A b Sue Wells: Belize Barrier Reef , accessed January 16, 2018.
- ↑ Bans Bottom Trawling in Exclusive Economic Zone. Legislation will protect the second largest reef system in the world from the destructive fishing practice , accessed January 16, 2019.
- ^ Government bans offshore oil drilling , Belize Guardian , December 3, 2015, accessed January 16, 2019.
- ↑ Belize beats Unesco deadline to ban offshore exploration , December 5, 2015, accessed January 16, 2019.
- ↑ UNESCO World Heritage Center: Belize Barrier Reef Reserve System removed from the List of World Heritage in Danger. Retrieved June 27, 2018 .