Great Barrier Reef

Grave Barrier Reef

An investigation into the dumping of waste into the Great Barrier Reef

- By Lachlan Crook

As one of the seven natural wonders of the world, the Great Barrier Reef has for a long time been a prime holiday location for tourists and locals alike. Will it soon be gone? The actions of the few may soon see this natural wonder disappear.

For millions of years the Great Barrier Reef has been a hotspot for ocean life along the Queensland coast. This massive coral structure is large enough to be seen from space and is the largest single structure made by living organisms. It is created by new coral growing on top of the previous layer and it supports a wide diversity of life. The Great Barrier Reef is of such environmental significance that it was made a World Heritage site in 1981.

In recent years the Great Barrier Reef has had to deal with the pressures of an increase in ocean temperature due to climate change, and ocean acidification due to CO2emissions. Despite these new, challenging conditions, the Great Barrier Reef has survived and continues to thrive and support a huge variety of ocean life.

Seemingly to test the threshold even further the Abbott Government has recently agreed to allow up to 3 million cubic metres of dredge from the Abbot Point Port to be dumped into the reef area off the coast of Bowen.

One of the main issues surrounding the dumping of dredge is that it could push some endangered species, even closer to extinction. Two animals that are [pic 1]The Great Barrier Reef – teeming with life and colour.

especially endangered by this venture are the flat back turtles, and the dugong. The flat back turtle live very close to Abbot Point port, are officially classed as

“vulnerable”, and have the shortest migratory range of any marine turtle. This means that if their home is damaged due to these projects, they will have nowhere left to go, and be one step closer to extinction.

The dugongs also are currently at a significantly high risk of extinction, and the majority of the remaining population live in the Great Barrier Reef. The sea-grass beds that are home for these few remaining dugong also happen to be inside the Government nominated dumping zone. If these beds are damaged the dugong would be very hard-pressed to survive.

This coal project is of course not without its benefits. Darren Yeates , chief executive of GVK-Hancock explained "The mining at the Galilee Basin, which is the reason for the Abbot Point expansion, will be the largest coal port in the world. It will create over 20 000 jobs, unlock as much as $28 billion in future coal projects and contribute over $40 billion in taxes and royalties" when asked about the positives of the projects.

In addition to positive financial benefit there have also been very strict environmental conditions placed on the dumping of coal dredge in the reef, such as, a maximum of 1.3 million cubic metres can be dumped per year, and it can only take place in a narrow window of time, to prevent it from interrupting key coral spawning times. “This combined with careful water purity monitoring will significantly reduce the impact made on the Great Barrier Reef” said Mr Greg Hunt, Federal Environmental Minister.

Many environmental scientists aren’t so sure.

“It’s a really disappointing decision,” Selina Ward, a marine biologist at the University of Queensland said in response to the announcement. She went on to say, “What we need to do is stop putting pressure on the reef, certainly not to be adding further stress to it by dumping 3 million tonnes of sediment on it.”

Many scientists are also concerned that the sediment may spread further than is initially expected. An independent report filed in August 2013 found that dredging sediment travels further than was previously expected. This is due to weather patterns in the reef swirling up the sediment and carrying it in its currents.