A new report backed by the UN has called for the Great Barrier Reef to be placed on the list of world heritage sites ‘in danger’.
A new report backed by the UN has called for the Great Barrier Reef to be placed on the list of world heritage sites ‘in danger’.
The report comes as the conclusion to a UN-backed mission sent to observe the current status of the reef back in March 2022 and to measure the impact of climate change and the challenges it posed to the reef’s health. The report also made 10 priority recommendations that need to be addressed with urgency.
The reef mission was organised in March 2022 at the behest of former federal environment minister Sussan Ley after a successful attempt by the former government to avoid the reef from being placed on the ‘in danger’ list in 2021.
The team consisted of two experts – one from UNESCO and another from International Union for Conservation of Nature – who met with various Queensland experts and scientists to gauge the health of the reef.
“Despite the unparalleled science and management efforts made by [Australia] in recent years, the [outstanding universal value] of the property is significantly impacted by climate change factors.” the report stated.
It also noted that Australia’s new commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to keep temperatures consistent at 2 degree Celsius would not be enough – since the reef’s health required temperatures around 1.5 degree Celsius. Without this, the report warned, the reef could face two consistent years of bleaching.
Among its many findings, the mission also discovered that commitments to reduce pollutants being discharged into the reef’s waters were slow, thus harming the water quality targets. “The resilience of the property to recover from climate change impacts is substantially compromised, in particular – but not exclusively – due to degraded water quality.” the report said.
UNESCO is set to present the report to the World Heritage Committee shortly, after taking into account the recommendations from the mission as well as comments from the Queensland and federal governments.
