INTRODUCTION: The following recommendations are based on the CCC assessment of the issues described in the detail, from a geographical and river catchment perspective. Marine areas were referenced to the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Zoning Plan map series from Shoalwater Bay to Port Curtis Bustard Bay http://www.gbrmpa.gov.au/zoning-permits-and-plans/zoning/zoning-maps. CCC’s submission also covered whole of catchment issues, Fitzroy Basin and Belyando River (Burdekin Basin) which have direct and increasing downstream impacts on the ‘universal values’ of the GBR World Heritage.
RECOMMENDATIONS
To protect the universal values of the Great Barrier Reef CCC recommends:
1. That major industrial projects including dredged marinas be excluded from the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area between the Broadsound Coast and Keppel Bay.
2. The largely ecologically intact Fitzroy Delta, Keppel Bay and associated estuaries and intertidal wetlands habitats should protected from heavy industry and ports.
3. Curtis Island north of Graham Creek (north of LNG Precinct) should become a National Park
4. Great Keppel Island public land outside existing developments, specifically Lot 21, should be protected as a National Park for conservation purposes.
5. Mt Larcom become a National Park with nature corridors to the nearby Rundle Range National Park and other nearby remnant natural areas.
6. Dredging of Gladstone Harbour must cease until peer reviewed independent science can identify, quantify and ascertain the actual cause/s for ecological and environmental harm (fish, mammals, water quality, sediments, microbes/pathogens and ecosystems) in the harbour and furthermore identify potential cause of ecological harm. CCC proposes a moratorium of dredging operations in the GBR World heritage Area.
7. Port and Shipping infrastructure should be optimised within existing locations and not expanded.
8. An immediate moratorium on the assessment and approval processes of current development projects within and adjacent to the GBR WHA until the Strategic Assessment has been completed to community and UNESCO World Heritage Committee’s satisfaction.
9. Scope 3 Greenhouse gas emissions from the proposed and current coal and gas development projects in Queensland must be taken into account and assessed on a per project and accumulative basis in project assessments and in the Strategic Assessment, so that the actual contribution of GHG to global climate change and its subsequent impact on the Great Barrier Reef are fully considered.
10. Coal Mining, Coal Seam Gas wells and Shale Oil/Gas mining should be strictly off limits for the coastal areas adjacent to the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area and GBR Marine Park.
See also Great Barrier Grief website and blog.