The Great Barrier Reef is on track to be included on the UNESCO World Heritage “in danger” list as early as next year.
A draft report, which will be considered at a World Heritage Committee meeting in Paris in July, stated that the outlook for the Great Barrier Reef was “very poor”.
Australian Marine Conservation Society (AMCS) campaigner Simon Miller said the draft decision, released this week, showed the Queensland and Federal governments still had work to do to improve the health of the reef.
Mr Miller said Australia’s progress in addressing the UNESCO-IUCN Reactive Monitoring Mission’s 2022 recommendations to protect the Reef had been patchy.
He said the report noted some issues had been dealt with well, such as the phasing out of gillnet fishing, while other issues such as stopping clearing of high-value native vegetation in the Reef catchment had not been addressed.
“UNESCO has called on Australia to set further ambitious climate targets consistent with limiting temperature increases to 1.5ºC, with the Reef having suffered six mass coral bleaching events in the past decade.”
Mr Miller said UNESCO’s draft decision expressed its “utmost concern” that the outlook for the Great Barrier Reef was “very poor” and said the Great Barrier Reef could be considered for inclusion on the World Heritage ‘In Danger’ list next year.
“The report accompanying the draft decision has, for the first time, requested Australia ‘establish effective mechanisms to mitigate negative impacts … during and after extreme weather events’.”