Coalition inches away from preventing Great Barrier Reef status downgrade

Diplomatic efforts to prevent UNESCO from listing the Great Barrier Reef as ‘in danger’ are inches away from succeeding.

Environment Minister Sussan Ley spent the last week in Europe, lobbying a number of World Heritage Committee members to overturn the draft decision. Picture: Getty

The federal government’s diplomatic efforts to prevent UNESCO from listing the Great Barrier Reef as “in danger” are inches away from succeeding, with only one more vote from the World Heritage Committee required to hold of the damaging status downgrade.

Amendments to the draft decision submitted to the committee – published overnight – shows 12 countries now back removing the proposed “in danger’ listing to be discussed on Friday.

With official ratification requiring 14 votes, or two-thirds of the 21 member countries, the twelve signatories of the amendment, plus Australia’s own vote, means the government is just one vote short. However, if countries choose to abstain from the vote, the requirement could be lower.

The 12 signatories to the amendment are Bahrain, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Ethiopia, Hungary, Mali, Nigeria, Oman, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Spain, St Kitts and Nevis and Uganda.

Environment Minister Sussan Ley spent the last week in Europe, lobbying a number of World Heritage Committee members to overturn the draft decision.

On Monday, The Australian revealed the Australian Institute of Marine science was showing signs of recovery with some of the best coral coverage recorded in years.

But the institute’s chief executive, Paul Hardisty, said Australia had to “accept the increasing risk of marine heatwaves that can lead to coral bleaching and the need for the world to reduce carbon emissions”.

The draft World Heritage Committee decision, even with the amendments, will still warn the long-term outlook for the reef has deteriorated further from “poor to very poor”, with damage “more rapid and widespread” than previously evident.

The document requires Australia to provide an update by December 2022, warning the reef may be listed as “in danger” the following year if the damage is confirmed

The diplomatic efforts also included a snorkelling trip with the federal government’s reef envoy Warren Entsch, who hosted ambassadors from 13 countries.

Last month, UNESCO said it had recommended the Great Barrier Reef be downgraded to an “in-danger” listing because bleaching in 2016, 2017 and last year had compounded problems of pollution run-off and water quality, leaving no doubt the reef was facing “ascertained danger”.

The government had lobbied the World Heritage Committee to stop an earlier embarrassing downgrade for the reef, with then environment Minister Greg Hunt succeeding in holding off the change in May 2015.