WWF-Australia today welcomed Minister for the Environment Greg Hunt’s decision to invest more than $31 million into tropical water quality research.
The research will help manage the threat of declining water quality on the Great Barrier Reef, which has been exacerbated by large infrastructure developments and continued farm pollution run-off.
But with the mounting threats of industrialisation, coral cover declines, crown-of-thorns starfish outbreaks and climate change, billions of dollars will be needed if the World Heritage icon is to be saved.
“The Government’s own scientists have clearly stated that current management arrangements are not enough to even halt the decline of the Reef, let alone reverse the Reef’s decline,” said WWF-Australia CEO Dermot O’Gorman.
“Good research programs like this are important but what the science is telling us is that we need to invest billions not millions of dollars in solutions to ensure a future for the Great Barrier Reef.”
Source: WWF-Australia
Image Source: © WWF-Canon / James Morgan
