At a Glance

The Great Barrier Reef is not "in danger," UNESCO says.Conservation groups and climate scientists disagree.

UNESCO's World Heritage Committee says Australia's Great Barrier Reef is not "in danger" despite mounting evidence that back-to-back massive coral bleaching events have threatened the survival of the site.

In a , the United Nations organization did say it has "serious concerns" about the devastating bleaching that wiped out much of the reef in 2016 and 2017, adding that it "welcomed" continued efforts to conserve the world heritage site.

The report was generated after the Australian government provided updates on the state of the reef, along with an update on the progress onthe implementation of the , which outlines "concrete management measures for the next 35 years to ensure the Outstanding Universal Value of the Reef is preserved now and for generations to come."

UNESCO noted in its report that federal and state governments need to “accelerate efforts” to meet the .

"The World Heritage Committee ... strongly encourages [Australia] to accelerate efforts to ensure meeting intermediate and long-term targets of the plan, which are essential to the overall resilience of the property, in particular regarding water quality," the organization said.

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The report noted that authorities were making "slow"progress in meeting water-quality targets, which include an 80 percent reduction nitrogen runoff and 50 percent reduction in sediment runoff by 2025.

Government officials, including Josh Frydenberg, Australia's minister for the environment and energy, lauded both the decision by UNESCO and the progress on 2050 LTSP.

Frydenberg called the announcement a “ and a big win for the Turnbull Government,” referring to Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, according to the Sidney Morning Herald.

Conservation groups and climate scientists disagree.

Climate scientistWill Steffennoted that if the severe bleaching “isn’t enough to put the Great Barrier Reef in danger, I’m not sure what is.”

“We’ve had 67 percent mortality on the northern section of the reef, the most pristine section,” Steffen, a professor at Australian National University, told ABC. “There is only one reason why that happened and that was the high ocean temperatures caused by the burning of fossil fuels.”

The reef was listed to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1981.

To be , a natural site must show a "serious decline in the population of the endangered species" or "severe deterioration of the natural beauty or scientific value of the property," among other things.

There are currently 54 properties, including natural sites and structures, . Natural sites on the list include in Côte d'Ivoire and thein Madagascar, among others.

Earlier this year, of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies at James Cook Universitysaid the site was so damaged by back-to-back bleaching eventsthat affected more than two-thirds of theunless drastic measures are undertaken to curb carbon emissions that lead to global warming.

MORE ON WEATHER.COM:Great Barrier Reef Bleaching Continues in 2017