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Aussie gov't to commit additional 100 mln AUD to protecting barrier reef

Xinhua, March 21, 2015 Adjust font size:

Australian government will commit an additional 100 million AU dollars (77.66 million U.S. dollars) to protecting the Great Barrier Reef, Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott announced on Saturday.

The new funding will go to the Reef Trust to tackle key challenges facing the Great Barrier Reef, in particular projects to improve water quality.

It will support the implementation of the historic Reef 2050 Long Term Sustainability Plan for the protection and management of the Great Barrier Reef, Australia's most famous World Heritage site. The plan is also officially launched on Saturday.

Last year, the commonwealth government established a 40-million- AU dollar (31 million U.S. dollar) Reef Trust. The new funding now lifts the trust to 140 million AU dollars (108 million U.S. dollars) in value, with the overall investment by governments in the reef exceeding two billion AU dollars (1.55 billion U.S. dollars) over the next decade.

As part of the efforts to protect the reef, the Australian government has issued a total and permanent ban on the dumping of capital dredge spoil in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park.

There will be zero capital disposal anywhere in the entire 345, 000 sq km Marine Park.

Abbott also announced the appointment of the Commonwealth Chief Scientist, Professor Ian Chubb, to chair an independent scientific panel to advise on funding priorities for the total of 140-million- AU dollar Reef Trust to assist with qualitative monitoring on achieving targets under the Reef 2050 Long Term Sustainability Plan as well as the overarching vision to improve the Outstanding Universal Value of the Reef every decade between now and 2050.

Abbott said encouraging signs can be found in the reef's water quality.

"We have achieved reductions of 11 percent in sediment, more than 10 percent in nitrogen, 28 percent in pesticides and a 16 percent reduction in dissolved inorganic nitrogen running into the Reef lagoon."

The Reef 2050 Long Term Sustainability Plan draws together for the first time all the work, expertise and science critical to managing the reef for the next three decades and beyond.

"We have met or exceeded all of the recommendations that the World Heritage Committee has made to ensure the Great Barrier Reef retains the Outstanding Universal Value for which it was listed in 1981," Abbott said. Endi