Reducing Reef Water Pollution
A Review of Government Investments to reduce Water Pollution in the Great Barrier Reef
Water pollution remains a major threat to the Great Barrier Reef, despite considerable investments to improve water quality in Reef catchments over the past two decades. Elevated levels of fine sediments, nutrients, and pesticides continue to have detrimental impacts on the Reef, particularly coastal, inshore, and mid-shelf marine ecosystems. The current outlook for the Reef is ‘very poor’, and management efforts to improve water quality have only been ‘partially effective’ (GBRMPA, 2024).
Reducing water pollution is critical to increase the resilience of the Reef and support the recovery of Reef ecosystems from the impacts of climate change. To sustain the Outstanding Universal Value of the Reef, it is imperative for Australia to fulfil its commitment to meet water quality targets by 2030 (Commonwealth of Australia, 2024; Waterhouse et al., 2024).
This review provides an overview of publicly available data on government investments since 2003 and examines their effectiveness in reducing water pollution in Reef catchments and generating progress towards the Reef 2050 water quality targets, concluding with a set of five key policy recommendations. After more than two decades, a large gap in funding needed to reach water quality targets remains.
Reducing Reef Water Pollution Report
Further information or comment contact:
Dr Maximilian Hirschfeld, AMCS Water Quality Campaign Manager, 0481 850 002 [email protected]