1 Million Women Reef Campaign

The Great Barrier Reef. © Al Mackinnon

to call on the World Heritage
Committee to save our Reef

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We are women of the world urging UNESCO World Heritage Committee members to protect the Great Barrier Reef by declaring it ‘World Heritage in Danger’

This extreme official censure is the only thing that will force our governments and polluting industries to take decisive action to fight the greatest threat to the Reef, climate change.

We are taking this message to key decision-makers in Australia and internationally who will influence the Reef’s fate. This is a powerful action we can take together to ensure its protection.

Please add your name to support this action.

FULL LETTER BELOW.

We are women of Australia and the world making this appeal directly to you, the heads of the World Heritage Committee and its expert advisers, UNESCO and the IUCN, currently considering the Great Barrier Reef for declaration as 'World Heritage in Danger'.
Although we wish it were otherwise, we are urging the World Heritage Committee to list the reef as ‘in Danger’ to stop further irreversible damage and to protect it for generations to come.

The reef’s plight is unbearably sad. Its story is the story of climate change:

Recognised as World Heritage in 1981 for its Outstanding Universal Value, the reef is in crisis.
The pressures it now faces are undermining the very reasons for its original listing as World Heritage.
This vast, incredible eco-system is being overwhelmed by climate change with its destructive combination of heat-driven coral bleaching, ocean acidification and turbo-charged tropical storms, as well as the Crown of Thorns starfish, industrial development, and nutrient and chemical laden run-off from the land.
An estimated half of the reef’s coral cover already has been lost in the three decades since the reef was inscribed as World Heritage.

Dr Jodie Rummer, Associate Professor of Marine Biology in theCollege of Science and Engineering at the Australian Research Council (ARC) Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies at James Cook University says"We need to do more, faster, to cut emissions this decade, or the reef will face more severe marine heatwaves, more often, and without time to recover. We need to rapidly phase out all coal, oil, and gas dependencies and focus our efforts and funding on renewable, clean energy.

The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority’s Outlook Report 2014 warned that: ‘Climate change remains the most serious threat to the Great Barrier Reef. It is already affecting the Reef and is likely to have far-reaching consequences in the decades to come. Sea temperatures are on the rise and this trend is expected to continue, leading to an increased risk of mass coral bleaching; gradual ocean acidification will increasingly restrict coral growth and survival; and there are likely to be more intense weather events.’

In this open letter we are urging the World Heritage Committee to:

Not be swayed by intensive lobbying and assurances by the Australian Government and/or State of Queensland that fears for the reef are overblown and that its protection is in hand.
Therefore ensure that there is no diverting from the fact that the reef is ‘in danger’ from climate change, and to proceed with the ‘World Heritage in Danger’ listing this year.

There comes a time when the self-defensive protestations of individual nations must be overridden precisely because World Heritage is so special, and the responsibility for its protection is shared globally. That time has arrived for the Great Barrier Reef.

Great Barrier Reef

Governments are failing to act. We are urging the World Heritage Committee to urgently 'Declare the Great Barrier Reef in Danger.' Help stop further irreversible damage and save it for generations to come.

Im Declaring the Reef in Danger. Watch it die - or give it life. Use your power to save it while there is still time Dr Sylvia Earle

I'M DECLARING THE REEF IN DANGER. IF WE LET THIS ONE GO, IT'S GONE FOREVER AND THAT WOULD BE A DEVASTATING LOSS.. Layne Beachley

If we cant save our most precious heritage listed sites, we might as well sell everything to the highest bidder and stop pretending we care who inherits our country. Rachel Ward

I am declaring the Great Barrier Reef in Danger. It is a precious and unique jewel that we cant let die. It's time to care for this beauty and make a call to action. Katie Noonan

Natalie Isaacs, Founder of 1 Million Women

1 Million Women

We empower women and girls to act on climate change through the way we live, through using our voice and vote and through influencing others to do the same.

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To save the reef, climate action is critical. Donate to help us reach more women and girls and empower them to use their voices, their votes and lifestyle changes to act on climate change. DONATE HERE