Skip to main content

Australia's Great Barrier Reef: UNESCO monitors its threats


In May 2014 the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) commissioned a report on threats to Australia’s Great Barrier Reef along the coast of Queensland, such as pollution, water quality, and coastal development. UNESCO is the global organization that monitors significant cultural heritage sites. The report by its World Heritage Committee (WHC) was critical of the government’s handling of key threats to the reef, especially port development. It said it would list the Great Barrier Reef as a “World Heritage in Danger” site.

UNESCO maintained that the reef, the world’s largest coral structure of more than 2,600 kilometres (1,680 miles), and one of the “natural wonders of the world” was deteriorating, and that it would make a decision in May 2015 about its heritage listing. The listing would mean considerable restrictions regarding development along the coast.

Australia’s national government and the Queensland state government indicated that significant progress had been made in addressing the threats stated in the 2014 report.

On Friday May 29, 2015, the WHC drafted a decision accepting the Australian government’s commitment to reduce pollution run-off by 80% by 2025 through the restriction of the new port development in the area and limitations on dredging. However, the committee said some commitments had not yet been enacted into law. The WHC requested a progress review in 2017 (Canberra Times, May 29, 2015).

The draft decision will be discussed at UNESCO’s meeting in Bonn in June. At that time the WHC will either accept or modify their draft decision. Currently WHC has deleted the words “in danger” from their references. Australian representatives will also attend the meeting in June. Although the WHC decided not to officially list the Great Barrier Reef as being “in danger” it has put Australia on probation.


[Martina Nicolls is the author of the award-winning 1996 article “Canaries in coal mines: corals in reefs” for the CRC Reef Research Centre, James Cook University, Townsville, Australia]







MARTINA NICOLLS is an international aid and development consultant, and the author of:- The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet (2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Sudan Curse (2009).

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Pir-E-Kamil - The Perfect Mentor by Umera Ahmed: book review

The Perfect Mentor pbuh  (2011) is set in Lahore and Islamabad in Pakistan. The novel commences with Imama Mubeen in medical university. She wants to be an eye specialist. Her parents have arranged for her to marry her first cousin Asjad. Salar Sikander, her neighbour, is 18 years old with an IQ of 150+ and a photographic memory. He has long hair tied in a ponytail. He imbibes alcohol, treats women disrespectfully and is generally a “weird chap” and a rude, belligerent teenager. In the past three years he has tried to commit suicide three times. He tries again. Imama and her brother, Waseem, answer the servant’s call to help Salar. They stop the bleeding from his wrist and save his life. Imama and Asjad have been engaged for three years, because she wants to finish her studies first. Imama is really delaying her marriage to Asjad because she loves Jalal Ansar. She proposes to him and he says yes. But he knows his parents won’t agree, nor will Imama’s parents. ...
1 comment
Read more

Sister cities discussed: Canberra and Islamabad

Two months ago, in March 2015, Australia and Pakistan agreed to explore ways to deepen ties. The relationship between Australia and Pakistan has been strong for decades, and the two countries continue to keep dialogues open. The annual bilateral discussions were held in Australia in March to continue engagements on a wide range of matters of mutual interest. The Pakistan delegation discussed points of interest will include sports, agriculture, economic growth, trade, border protection, business, and education. The possible twinning of the cities of Canberra, the capital of Australia, and Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan, were also on the agenda (i.e. called twin towns or sister cities). Sister City relationships are twinning arrangements that build friendships as well as government, business, culture, and community linkages. Canberra currently has international Sister City relationships with Beijing in China and Nara in Japan. One example of existing...
2 comments
Read more

The acacia thorn trees of Kenya

There are nearly 800 species of acacia trees in the world, and most don’t have thorns. The famous "whistling thorn tree" and the Umbrella Thorn tree of Kenya are species of acacia that do have thorns, or spines. Giraffes and other herbivores normally eat thorny acacia foliage, but leave the whistling thorn alone. Usually spines are no deterrent to giraffes. Their long tongues are adapted to strip the leaves from the branches despite the thorns. The thorny acacia like dry and hot conditions. The thorns typically occur in pairs and are 5-8 centimetres (2-3 inches) long. Spines can be straight or curved depending on the species. MARTINA NICOLLS is an international aid and development consultant, and the author of:- Similar But Different in the Animal Kingdom (2017), The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet (2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Suda...
1 comment
Read more