LONDON: The Great Barrier Reef risks being officially listed as “in danger” unless Australia provides greater funding to reduce pollution and widens a ban on dumping sediment into the reef’s waters, environment groups have told the UN.
In a joint submission to Unesco’s world heritage committee, the World Wildlife Fund and the Australian Marine Conservation Society claim that key concerns over the fading health of the reef are still not being addressed.
The groups call for an additional $500m to prevent chemicals from farmed land flowing on to the reef and better resourcing of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority so it can become a “true champion of the reef”.
The submission also urges the Australian government to ban dumping of dredged seabed material into the reef’s world heritage area. The federal government has committed to banning dumping, but only in the reef’s marine park, which does not include the port areas adjacent to the coral ecosystem.
The world heritage committee will meet in Germany in June to decide whether the reef, which has lost half its coral cover in the past 30 years, should be listed as “in danger”.
“If we lost 50% of the Taj Mahal there would be no question it would be on the world heritage in danger list, but when things are underwater they are less visible and less immediate,” said Richard Leck, a Great Barrier Reef campaigner at WWF.
“There is a strong case for listing the reef in danger but there is also a good chance it can be avoided if the federal government steps up its commitments. I’d say it’s too close to call at this stage.”
Leck, who travelled to France to deliver the submission, said there was “concern and shock” within Unesco at the decline of the reef.
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