UNESCO has recommended the Great Barrier Reef be left off the in-danger list for now. Here's what the United Nations body wants to see from Australia to keep it that way.
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CLIMATE CHANGE:
* The federal government "should be urged to set more ambitious emission reduction targets consistent with limiting global temperature to 1.5degC above pre-industrial levels".
CORAL BLEACHING:
* It wants the government to publicly release mortality rates from the summer 2023/24 mass bleaching event, the fifth mass bleaching since 2016.
WATER QUALITY:
* UNESCO says it is "uncertain whether the 2025 water quality targets will be achieved and efforts toward this end require the most diligent attention".
"Significant reductions in both sediment and dissolved inorganic nitrogen are essential for the future resilience of the property, in particular considering the rapidly changing climate conditions," it says.
LAND CLEARING:
* The UN body is concerned that "rates of native vegetation clearing remain significant. High levels of land clearing are incompatible with the objectives set out to reverse poor water quality".
It wants existing laws protecting native vegetation strengthened "to ensure that all remnant and high value growth areas are protected".
UNESCO also called for greater programs "to repair and restore coastal wetland and riparian ecosystems alongside nutrient and pesticide pollution reduction".
FISHING:
* UNESCO commended government actions for implementing the phasing out of "all destructive gillnet fishing" across the reef.
It wants the reef "fully gillnet free, without exception, by mid-2027 at the latest", in line with government commitments.
"It is also vital that new Net-Free Zones ... are being established and legislation is enforced, including the review and verification of catch amongst fisheries and publication of relevant data to ensure transparency."
WHAT NEXT:
* UNESCO's recommendation to keep the reef off the in-danger list is only a draft decision.
The matter will be formally considered by the World Heritage Committee next month, but it usually follows UNESCO's advice.
If that advice is adopted in full, Australia will have to provide a new report on its reef protection efforts in February next year, and again in February 2026.
UNESCO says the "continuing and unprecedented sequence of bleaching events" means there's a need for frequent updates.
SOURCE: United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
Australian Associated Press
