Posted on February, 09 2015

Reckless industrialization proposed alongside Australia’s Great Barrier Reef  (GBR) could cause severe damage according to a new WWF report. WWF is calling on the Australian Government to ban all dumping of dredged material within the GBR World Heritage Site. The Great Barrier Reef Under Threat report states that dumping of seabed ‘spoil’, dredged to expand ports in the heart of the reef, would have devastating impacts, smothering corals and threatening marine life. And the port expansion is unnecessary – existing terminals sit idle a third of the year.  The report notes that many banks have backed away from financing coal terminals in the reef and WWF urges companies not to invest or participate in any project that could threaten the reef. 


Original article posted on: 09.02.15      Updated: 12.03.15