United Nations agency UNESCO has raised concerns about proposals to dump dredged soil in the reef’s World Heritage Area, and is due to rule in February next year on whether to add the Great Barrier Reef to its World Heritage in Danger list. That enormous amount of sediment would have severe effects on inshore coral reefs and seagrass meadows - which provide shelter and food for fish, turtles and dugongs - because the cloudier water reduces the sunlight needed for healthy coral and seagrass growth.įederal Environment Minister Greg Hunt recently rejected Gladstone Ports' bid to dump 12 million cubic metres of dredge spoils into the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area.īut there are other port developments up for approval, including a decision due by 13 December on whether Abbot Point can be expanded to become one of the world’s biggest coal ports, which would involve dumping 3 million cubic metres of dredged spoil into the reef. Most of the dredge spoil will be dumped into the waters of the Great Barrier Reef, with the rest placed in reclamation areas on the coast within the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area. Yet all that effort to protect the reef looks like it’s about to be swamped.ġ40 million tonnes of marine sediment are proposed to be dredged during port development in the Great Barrier Reef over the next decade, according to my calculations from port development plans. Thanks to an extraordinary effort, we have stopped at least 360,000 tonnes of sediment and large amounts of other agricultural run-off polluting Australia’s most famous natural wonder.
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