Australia, a frequent target of criticism from environmentalists for refusing to ratify the Kyoto Protocol on global warming, received the World Wildlife Fund's (WWF) top accolade yesterday for its efforts to protect the Great Barrier Reef.
The fund, a leading international conservation group, bestowed its Gift to the Earth award on Australia for the implementation of a Great Barrier Reef Marine Park zoning plan last year, which banned fishing in a third of the World Heritage-listed park.
The fund said the zoning plan was a "pioneering development in marine conservation that sets the benchmark for marine protected area network establishment in Australia and around the world."
"The Great Barrier Reef is one of the world's most treasured natural wonders, and the Australian government has shown it is truly a world leader in marine conservation by implementing the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park zoning plan," said WWF official James Leape.
The award was announced at the start of the inaugural meeting of the International Marine Protected Areas Congress in Geelong.
The congress brought together several hundred experts in marine conservation from more than 60 countries.
WWF said they hoped the Gift to the Earth award would inspire other countries to follow Australia's lead and establish similar marine protection areas.
The Great Barrier Reef stretches over more than 345,000km2 and is home to 1,500 fish species.
Considered the world's largest living organism, the network of coral reefs is the centerpiece of a multi-billion dollar annual tourism industry, attracting divers from around the world.
The Australian plan, implemented in July last year, increased the area of the park covered by a ban on all fishing and tight restrictions on other activities from 4.6 percent to 33 percent.
However, the reef -- which has been listed by the UN as a World Heritage site -- remains under threat, notably from coral bleaching believed to be caused by rising sea temperatures linked to global warming.
Australia's government has refused to sign the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, which imposed reductions in the production of so-called greenhouse gases blamed for global warming, saying the pact would harm its economy.
But it recently joined the US, the other major holdout from the Kyoto deal, in a six-country pact on curbing greenhouse gases.
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