A government file has found that the marine environment along the Great Barrier Reef coast remains in poor health, prompting environmentalists to call for urgent action ahead of this year’s committee meeting. world heritage.
The reef water quality information sheet, published on Wednesday, indicated that the health of corals and grasslands in coastal areas had not improved, but water quality was slightly better than previous years.
Officials gave the condition of the marine environment in 2019 a “D” grade in relation to the 2017 and 2018 reports.
Federal Environment Minister Sussan Ley and Queensland Environment and Great Barrier Reef Minister Meaghan Scanlon said improved farming practices and a $ 667 million investment to help ranchers and growers sugar cane helped the water conditions.
“The fact that the overall maritime state is poor underscores the importance of these investments,” Ley said.
The Great Barrier Reef, declared a World Heritage Site, is the largest coral reef system in the world, but it is under increasing pressure due to global warming that caused mass bleaching events in 2016, 2017 and 2020. .
The reporting period of the report ended before the start of widespread money laundering in early 2020.
Scientists say improving water quality and reducing sediments, fertilizers and chemicals flowing into reef waters will give the system more chances of recovering from future bleaching.
The UN World Heritage Committee is due to review the status of the reef at a meeting scheduled for June in China.
In 2017, the committee said progress needs to be accelerated towards achieving water quality goals.
Governments have set a set of targets for 2025 for reef catchments.
Ley and Scanlon noted the reduction in dissolved inorganic nitrogen levels, derived from fertilizers, and cumulative levels fell 25.5% since 2013. The target is a 60% drop in 2025.
Burdekin’s wet troops and farmers had fundamentally contributed to improving water quality, ministers said.
The Queensland government says dissolved inorganic nitrogen is linked to algae blooms, coral-eating starfish outbreaks and coral disease.
In addition to water quality, there are also targets to improve land management practices for sugar cane, grazing, horticulture, cereals and bananas.
According to the targets, approximately 90% of the land in the priority areas should use best practices by 2025.
Only 12.7% of the land devoted to sugar cane agriculture used best practices, according to the bulletin. According to the report, the banana industry was the one that got the best yield, with 65% of the area covered.
The Queensland government passed new reef water quality laws in 2019 that will give the government the power to set minimum standards.
There are already some rules on better record keeping, but others are slated for later this year and 2022.
Dr Lissa Schindler, an advocate for the Australian Marine Conservation Society’s Great Barrier Reef, said the bulletin shows that governments “still have a long way to go” to achieve the water quality goals that the Committee of World Heritage contemplates.
“Improving water quality needs the support and dedication of all Queensland farmers and ranchers and will need the support of the Queensland government to adopt the necessary best practices,” Schindler said. “That’s why we’re asking for more funding to help the agricultural sector quickly comply with regulations.”
She hoped that in the next 2022 business card, the impact of the new government laws would force improvements.
Richard Leck, WWF-Australia’s head of oceans, said: “We know the world is looking at Australia’s performance in improving water quality at the Great Barrier Reef and it is worrying that progress is but it is encouraging that there is some progress.
“The Queensland and Australian governments need to commit to making long-term investments to improve water quality and ensure that reef regulations are properly enforced.
“What this report shows is that we need long-term commitments on water quality. It’s a long-term problem and a lot needs to be done. “