The Australian Government has approved the expansion of major coal ports on the Great Barrier Reef which could see 3 million cubic meters of sludge being dumped in the reef's waters...
During 2010, I spent 3 months of my life on a remote and unpopulated island of the Bahamas as part of a marine research and conservation program to study coral reef ecosystems. Many Caribbean reefs are in bad shape due to both natural and human induced causes , and after 3 months of diving and studying the reef, I know first hand how fragile an ecosystem it is.
Mr Hunt also approved the building of a new coal terminal at Abbot Point by Indian mining giant Adani, which could become one of the largest coal ports in the world.
These decisions threaten to hasten the demise of the reef, which is already seriously in decline having lost half it's coral cover over the past 30 years. For young people like me, these decisions make me fear that the coral left will disappear in the next 30.
Critics of the dredging argue that the dumped material will smother seagrasses, depriving dugongs and sea turtles of food, as well as damaging coral. The tourism industry has also voiced concerns that further damage to the reef would be disastrous for the 63,000 jobs that depend on it. If the plans succeed at Abbott point, it means Australia will be speeding up the climate crisis, coal activities being our countries biggest contribution to climate change which is threatening our future, my future!
I live in Brazil, and what's happening with our Great Barrier Reef reminds me greatly of the fight taking place here to save the Amazon rainforest from being further developed and natural habitats and Indigenous lands destroyed - another issue close to my heart.
I have literally broken down in tears before just thinking about the future and what it will be like, perhaps without the Amazon or the Great Barrier Reef. I remember a conversation with my Mum recently where I asked her desperately 'How...how can people do it? How can governments approve these decisions? Why can't they see? How can they not care?'.
Of course I know these are not simple questions, but I just can't understand these decisions that compromise the natural world for the sake of big corporates and money, especially when we now have so many alternatives to using dirty and finite resources. I know the scariest answer to my questions, is that the realisations of what could be lost will come too late.
The last time I visited the reef I saw the destruction which has already taken place - great expanses of bleached and destroyed corals to confront. The World Heritage Committee has also been alarmed by increasing development on the reef's coast and will consider in 2014 whether the reef should be placed on an "in danger" list of world heritage sites . This is incredibly worrying, to think that my children and grandchildren will not get to experience the world and our waters the same way as today!
Richard Leck, from WWF, said "Approving a massive amount of sediment to be dumped at a time when the reef's health is so low, it really is against what the science tells us".
This decision to allow dumping on the reef is extremely irresponsible and pu ts the r eef in danger against the wishes of Australians everywhere .
I am sending this plea from far away, joining the voices calling out 'Don't dump on our reef'. The Reef is for all of us, and for the future generations - please protect it, not neglect it!
What can you do?
Follow Bronte on Twitter: @brontehogarth