During the last three decades, the Great Barrier Reef has lost half its coral cover, partially as a result of sediment dumped from nearby port expansion projects. Fortunately, a full ban on dumping in the reef may occur soon thanks to the UNESCO World Heritage Committee's recent vote to require Australia to restore the reef’s health through “effective and sustained protection.”

Nevertheless, the long-term threats of pollution and climate change continue to impact this diverse ecosystem and the nearly 6,000 species that inhabit it.

Researchers in Australia, in collaboration with the World Wildlife Fund, recently got an unusual tour of this unique environment and some of its many marine residents when they strapped a GoPro camera onto the back of a female sea turtle. The joint effort was part of a conservation project to study the effects of pollution on sea turtles. The result is this video, which shows snippets of the Great Barrier Reef from the turtle’s point of view, reminding viewers of what might be lost if the reef continues to deteriorate.