Abstract
AbstractThe Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area, Australia, covers over 348,000 km2 of tropical marine ecosystems of global significance. In July 2015, the World Heritage Committee called attention to the cumulative impacts of climate change, poor water quality, and coastal development on the region's outstanding universal value, but stopped short of inscribing the Great Barrier Reef on the List of World Heritage in Danger. Restoring the region's values is hindered by an environmental decision‐making process that fails to incorporate cumulative impacts, including the climate change impacts of greenhouse gas emissions sourced from one of Australia's largest exports, thermal coal. We identify policy and processes that enable a more comprehensive consideration of the cumulative effects of coal mining by environmental decision‐makers. Implementing cumulative impact assessment requires a collaborative and transparent program of planning and monitoring independent of Government and mine proponents that evaluates local, regional, and global impacts. The future of the Great Barrier Reef depends on transformational change in the cumulative assessment of Australian coal mines.
Highlights
The Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area encompasses the world’s most extensive coral-reef ecosystem, stretching over 2,300 km across an area almost the size of Germany
We show how current decision-making is promoting “death by a thousand cuts” of the Reef by failing to consider the cumulative impacts of all pressures, including developments in the Reef’s coastal zone and catchments
Environmental impact statements (EISs) assist the Queensland and Australian Governments to consider the impact of new coal mining proposals when deciding whether to approve them, and inform the development of appropriate conditions for environmental management and monitoring
Summary
The Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area (the Reef) encompasses the world’s most extensive coral-reef ecosystem, stretching over 2,300 km across an area almost the size of Germany. The global significance of the Reef was recognized in 1981 when it was inscribed on the World Heritage List for its outstanding universal value, meeting all four natural criteria: exceptional natural beauty, significant geomorphological features, significant ongoing ecological processes, and natural habitats for conserving biodiversity. The Reef and its catchment (part of which is shown in Figure 1) are exposed, directly or indirectly, to diverse and extensive human activities, including agriculture, mining, ports, shipping, fishing, tourism, and urban and industrial development. In its 39th session in July 2015, the World Heritage Committee noted that the overall outlook for the Reef is poor, and that climate change, poor water quality, and coastal development (e.g., ports) are major threats to the region’s habitats, species, and ecosystem processes (World Heritage Committee 2015).
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