The water quality of the Great Barrier Reef is under threat, according to a report in The Guardian. A Queensland Government task force has delivered a report that states urgent action is needed to stop pollution destroying the reef.
The report suggests tapping into the private sector for help, "the injection of corporate and philanthropic funding – to improve reef water quality as a bulwark against its greatest long-term threat, climate change."
According to the environmental group WWF: "The amount of sediment flowing into the marine park has quadrupled over the past 150 years. This increase can largely be attributed to grazing and cropping expansion in the catchment, which has also resulted in the loss of native vegetation and wetlands.
Nutrient loads have also increased, encouraging algal blooms, which, in turn, provide food for larvae of the devastating crown-of-thorns starfish. Since 1985 coral cover has declined by half along the Great Barrier Reef. Pollution driven crown-of-thorns starfish are responsible for over 40% of this loss."
The formation of a program to solicit corporate and philanthropic donations to improve water quality could help expedite recovery. In any case, the Federal Government should boost funding for monitoring and the reduction of nitrogen and sediment run-off.
Will you join me in urging the Federal Government to take action and create incentives to attract corporate and philanthropic funding, as well as funding programs for monitoring and run-off reduction?
Please sign and share the petition.
