AUSTRALIA'S GREAT BARRIER REEF IS NOT SAFE; NEW THREAT
- by: Isa Villanen
- recipient: Prime Minister of Australia Julia Gillard; Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry
The Great Barrier Reef is in danger by the planning of the new and huge coal port, but that is not the only threat. The latest ultimatum came from the UNESCO who said that if Australia will not take better care of the Great Barrier Reef, it may lose its position in the in the World Heritage List, said UNESCO recently,
Quote from UNESCO:
Emerging issues since the 2009 Outlook Report include proposed port expansions, increases in shipping activity, coastal development and intensification and changes in land use within the GBR catchment; population growth; the impacts from marine debris; illegal activities; and extreme weather events including floods and cyclones.
"Further building the resilience of the GBR by improving water quality, reducing the loss of coastal habitats and increasing knowledge about fishing and its effects and encouraging modified practices, will give the GBR its best chance of adapting to and recovering from the threats ahead, including the impacts of a changing climate."
End of quote.
In the recent declaration from UNESCO it has made it crear that if the Australian government take more active protection role and allowing the Grat Barrier Reef come to any harm, it will be struck off fro the Wold Heritage List.
The Great Barrier Reef is a largest natural habitat, approximately 348,000 square kilometres. Most of the property lies within the GBR Marine Park: at 344,400 square kilometres, this Federal Marine Park comprises approximately 99% of the property. The GBR Marine Park's legal jurisdiction ends at low water mark along the mainland (with the exception of port areas) and around islands (with the exception of 70 Commonwealth managed islands which are part of the Marine Park). In addition the GBR also includes over 900 islands within the jurisdiction of Queensland, about half of which are declared as 'national parks', and the internal waters of Queensland that occur within the World Heritage boundary (including a number of long-established port areas). (Quoted from UNESCO page)
Now it is of an utmost urgency that the Australian government and the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry create strickter protection laws for the Great Barrier Reef and that he enormous coal port will definitely be built. The global warming is already doing damsage on the reef, as the UV rays penetrate the shallow waters and cause even deaths of the micro organisms thus endangering the future of the reef. The huge cole port is an absolute NO, because the reef would be removed to create access to large cole hips to come and go.
At this very moment the Australian government is doing more harm than good, but the protection of the Great Barrier Reef should be imperative under the new ciscunstances.
If our world loses the Great Barrier Reef, it would start a vicious ripple effect all around the globe. It must be prevented, and rather by law.
Prime Minister of Australia, Julia Gillard and the heads of Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry,
We would like to take this opportunity to express our concerns about the Great Barrier Reef's future. Your plans for a new and massive coal port are not seen favourably in the offices of UNESCO, since they have declared that they will withdraw the Great Barrier Reef from the World Heritage Liset, if the protection of the GBR does not improve.
We are all unhappy about the situation, but to plan such a great coal port in such a delicate area seems wrong. The global warming is already doing its damage on the reef allowing, due to the thinning ozone layer and increased greenhousa gases, the dangerous UV beams to penetrate the water and cause many deaths of small coral animals and even plankton.
We think that it would be very wise to forget the coal port and force into action the Kyoto Protocol, created against climate change. The encreasing hunt and exploit of fossil fuel is only making matters worse, not better, and now this port, too, poses a huge threat on the GBR.
Please, do not take too long a time to make the right desicions to protect the world's most spctacular natural strucure, and keep the Great Barrier Reef in the world Heritage List.
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