First 'official' confirmation of government plans to dredge the Great Barrier Reef. It is only a few short months ago since I was angrily denounced as a liar for covering this
Mining dwarfs farming as threat to health of Great Barrier Reef, marine scientist warns
Mining
poses a greater threat to the health of the Great Barrier Reef than
agriculture, according to one marine scientist who has cast doubt on
the federal government's prediction that water quality will improve
along the reef coast.
14
December, 2013
On
Tuesday federal Environment Minister Greg Hunt gave the green light
to dredging and dumping associated with four coal terminals, and the
building of a liquid natural gas refinery and pipeline on the Great
Barrier Reef coas
Environmental
conditions attached to the approval include an undertaking that water
quality would improve by 150 per cent through a reduction in
farm-related sediments flowing into the marine park
But
research scientist at James Cook University's Australian Centre for
Tropical Freshwater Research, Jon Brodie, said mining activities
presented a greater threat to the reef than agriculture.
''Farmers
are going to be asked to save the reef when port authorities and
climate change managers are doing nothing,'' he said.
Agricultural
activity within the Great Barrier Reef catchment area such as beef
grazing, sugar cane, cotton and grain farming releases sediment, and
chemical and fertiliser runoff. This is discharged from rivers into
the sea.
However,
Mr Brodie said the damage done from the expansion of ports, including
dredging sediments known to be contaminated with heavy metals, could
prove a greater threat to the health of the reef because - unlike
runoff from agriculture - port development was going on without any
transparent management of the risks.
The
area off Abbot Point where 3 million cubic metres of seabed material
will be dredged and dumped as part of the expansion of the coal
terminal is near a range of marine habitats including coral reefs and
seagrass meadows that provide shelter and food for fish, turtles and
dugongs. Clear water is vital to reef health because cloudy water
reduces the reach of sunlight that corals and seagrasses need for
growth.
Mr
Brodie said while the decision would not kill the reef by itself it
was ''one more stress that could have been avoided''.
Australian
Greens senator Larissa Waters used Wednesday's question time to ask
how the environmental conditions would be enforced at Abbot Point,
and who would guarantee 63,000 tourism-related jobs if the World
Heritage Committee downgraded its assessment of the reef.
Finance
Minister Mathias Cormann said the conditions Mr Hunt imposed would
improve water quality and protect the reef. ''We are actually making
things better,'' he said.
The
United Nations agency UNESCO is due to rule on whether the Great
Barrier Reef should be added to its ''World Heritage in Danger"
list next year
Interesting blog. It would be great if you can provide more details about it. Thanks you.
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