Australia scoffs at reef fears amid UNESCO threat
Print Edition
Australia said it had made “substantial” progress on UNESCO benchmarks for protection of the Great Barrier Reef in a report aimed at staving off a world heritage downgrade.
Environment Minister Greg Hunt said yesterday that a progress report delivered to the world heritage committee “demonstrates unequivocally the government’s commitment to better managing and protecting this natural wonder.”
UNESCO has warned that without action on rampant coastal development and water quality the reef — covering an area roughly the size of Italy or Japan — will be declared “World Heritage in Danger” in June.
Hunt released Canberra’s latest report on the reef yesterday which he said showed significant progress was being made to address UNESCO’s concerns.
This was despite the government in December approving a massive coal port expansion in the region and the reef’s governing body — which is under investigation for its links to mining companies — green-lighting the dumping of up to three million cubic meters of dredge waste within its waters.
Conservationists have warned it could hasten the demise of the reef, which is already considered to be in “poor” health, with dredging smothering corals and seagrasses and exposing them to poisons and elevated levels of nutrients.
“The report shows that the Great Barrier Reef’s outstanding universal value and integrity remain largely intact and Australia has made substantial progress in responding to the requests of the World Heritage Committee,” Hunt said.
According to the report for UNESCO, Australia was taking steps to bolster the reef’s resilience to the major threats of extreme weather events and climate change which it said “cannot be managed directly.”
Working to reduce outbreaks of the coral-feeding crown-of-thorns starfish was a priority, as was tackling nutrient and sediment run-off from land-clearing and agriculture, it said.
On port development, it said no projects “have been approved outside the existing and long-established major port areas within or adjoining” the reef.
“Australia does not consider that the (reef) warrants inclusion on the list of World Heritage in Danger,” the report added.
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