Great Barrier Reef: Government releases Reef 2050 Long-Term Sustainability Plan
Updated
The Federal and Queensland Governments have together released the final version of the long-term plan for the Great Barrier Reef.
The Reef 2050 Long-Term Sustainability Plan satisfies one of the key recommendations made by the United Nation's World Heritage Committee and forms a key plank in the Governments' bid to avoid the site being declared "in danger" by UNESCO.
The report warns climate change is the biggest long-term threat facing the reef, while the immediate pressures include water quality, which has declined due to nutrient and sediment runoff from agricultural production.
Previously, a draft version of the report was criticised by some scientists as being a plan for sustainable development rather than protecting and conserving the reef.
The Queensland Government also sought urgent changes to the draft, to include its $100 million election commitment to improve water quality.
Queensland Environment Minister Steven Miles said the new plan would help protect and save the reef.
Mr Miles said significant changes had been made and he hoped the United Nations World Heritage Committee would not go ahead with upgrading the reef's status to "in danger".
"The key commitments include the limitation on the dumping of dredge spoil from port expansions, a limitation on the number of large ports on the coastline, but also a longer term plan about addressing water quality running into the reef," he said.
The updated version also contains the Federal and State Government's plans to ban dredge-dumping in the World Heritage Area.
However, the report does not stipulate any set caps on the amount of maintenance dredging that can be carried out.
"Protecting the Reef requires long-tern planning and commitment," the report said.
"Actions under the Reef 2050 plan will ensure the Great Barrier Reef continues to be among the world's best managed and protected World Heritage areas."
The plan was released by Prime Minister Tony Abbott at an event on Hamilton Island in far north Queensland today.
"Australia is telling the international agencies that we are utterly committed as an entire nation to the protection of the Great Barrier Reef which is one of the natural wonders of the world," he said.
The World Heritage Committee will decide in June whether to place the Great Barrier Reef on the "in danger" list.
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- Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority approves plan to dump Abbot Point spoil
- Former reef authority chair raises concern about dredge spill dumping plan
- Call for Great Barrier Reef authority to release full inquiry report
- Conservation group seeks to overturn reef dump plan
- Barrier Reef Authority was against dredge spoil dumping, documents show
Topics: great-barrier-reef, oceans-and-reefs, environment, government-and-politics, environmental-management, cairns-4870, hamilton-island-4803, qld, australia
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