- Australia will miss its 2025 targets to cut Great Barrier Reef water pollution - target to cut nitrogen won't be met until next century, in 2114
- Australian and Queensland governments must evaluate existing programs and develop a realistic plan that's fully budgeted - or risk missing the targets again
- UNESCO recommends implementing ambitious and adequately funded actions to keep the Reef off the World Heritage 'In Danger' list next year
UNESCO's World Heritage Centre again highlighted water pollution as a major threat to the Great Barrier Reef and its World Heritage status in its draft decision last week for the World Heritage Committee to consider when it meets in Paris in July.
A new report by the Australian Marine Conservation Society estimates Australia has spent about $2.25 billion over the past two decades trying to cut water pollutants such as sediment, excessive nitrogen from fertilisers, pesticides and herbicides in the Reef's waters, but progress on cutting some of the most damaging pollutants has been too slow to meet the targets designed to protect the health of the Reef. While this investment has supported critical work across the Great Barrier Reef catchments, more funding is needed. At current rates, the target to cut fine sediment by 25% on 2009 levels will not be met until 2047, while the target to reduce dissolved inorganic nitrogen by 60% is not expected to be achieved until 2114.
This year the Australian Government plans to revise the water quality targets and extend the deadline to 2030 - the third time targets have been pushed back since 2013. AMCS is urging the government to use this moment to refine its approach, starting with an independent evaluation of all existing programs, followed by a coordinated and fully costed plan that sets out how the new targets will actually be achieved.
AMCS Great Barrier Reef Water Quality Manager Dr Max Hirschfeld said: "The Australian and Queensland governments have a joint responsibility towards Queenslanders, Australians, UNESCO and the world to protect the Great Barrier Reef, so they must urgently reduce water pollution, the second biggest threat to the Reef after climate change.
"Water pollutants including sediment and excessive nitrogen from fertilisers are a major problem that's entirely in Australia's hands. The Reef needs clean water to improve its resilience to survive and recover from the impacts of climate change, including increasingly frequent mass coral bleaching events, cyclones and floods.
"At the current rate of pollution reduction, we are going to miss the 2025 targets by a long shot and in terms of nitrogen pollution not hit those targets till next century. For the third time in a dozen years, Australia will miss those targets and kick the can down the road and set new ones for 2030. The report highlights the need for more and better targeted government funding to protect the Reef from water pollution.
"Australia can still turn things around, but it starts with getting the basics right. The Reef is a $6 billion asset to Australia, yet there is still no clear plan or understanding of how much it will cost to achieve these new targets. What's needed now is a thorough evaluation of the effectiveness of previous and current programs and a realistic, coordinated plan that's fully costed and shows a clear roadmap and timelines on how we finally reach these critical water quality targets.
"Without a fully costed and coordinated plan, governments risk overpromising and under delivering to UNESCO and to the Australian public, jeopardising local tourism and fishing economies, thousands of jobs, and the future of our Reef."
Dr Jon Day, Adjunct Principal Research Fellow at James Cook University, said: "Australia has made some progress on water quality but, as the government's own assessment shows, the outlook for the Great Barrier Reef remains very poor. UNESCO has rightly highlighted that significant challenges remain in managing water quality, reducing extreme climate impacts, and ensuring the long-term resilience of the Reef."
Dr Scott Heron, James Cook University Professor of Physics and UNESCO Chair on Climate Vulnerability of Heritage, said "Climate change remains the greatest threat to the Great Barrier Reef, requiring global action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. In Australia, we need policy coherence - we simply can't continue to enable future emissions while also talking about protecting the environment that we all rely upon for everyday life."
Dr Day and Dr Heron wrote in The Conversation last week: "Huge gaps exist between current pollutants levels and the water quality targets. These and some other targets are well out of reach under existing funding levels.
"Both the Queensland and Australian governments could do far more to boost the health of the Reef. Clearly, more funding is needed. Without it, the future of the Great Barrier Reef is in jeopardy, and so too its tourism and fishing economies, and thousands of jobs."
