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UNESCO Criticises Australia s Management of Great Barrier Reef

Green groups in Australia have found an ally in the United National Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) in protecting the country's Great Barrier Reef.UNESCO, which released over the weekend its assessment of the reef's state of conservation, was critical of Australia's management of the 2,300-kilometre long reef which was listed in 1981 by the agency as a World Heritage site. It asked Canberra not to allow the development of new ports along the Great Barrier Reef.There are liquefied natural gas (LNG) plants at Curtis Island in Gladstone Harbour which sparked a UNESCO mission to visit the area in the early part of 2012. The report pointed out the potentially significant impact of the unprecedented scale of development being proposed or affecting the reef.Like us on FacebookUNESCO pushed for the conduct of an independent review of the management arrangements of the Gladstone Harbour to ensure the harbour's development of port infrastructure is consistent with best practices globally.Environmental groups have blamed the harbor dredging at Curtis Island and the LNG developments for mass fish deaths and diseases at Gladstone Harbour and water turbidity problems, but the accusations have not yet been proven.UNESCO had expressed alarm that in the past five years, ...

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Enviros look UNESCO for reef ship plan

How to better regulate ship traffic through the Great Barrier Reef Environmentalists are hopeful an international report will give the Queensland government ideas on how to better regulate ship traffic through the Great Barrier Reef.Bulk carrier ID Integrity lost power off the far north Queensland coast on Friday and narrowly avoided being run aground on Shark Reef.It passed safely over the reef and will likely be towed to Townsville on Monday, the Australian Maritime Safety Authority says.The Wilderness Society's northern Australia campaigner Gavan MacFadzean said he was hopeful UNESCO would detail some options about shipping regulations when it releases a report on the state of conservation in the Great Barrier Reef.'We look forward to seeing some recommendations which make traversing the reef by bulk carrier safer,' Mr MacFadzean told AAP on Monday.'(We hope they) make specific recommendations about how we're going to handle this big increase in ship movements and port developments.'The report, due to be released next week, will make recommendations about whether the reef should be listed as a World Heritage site in danger.UNESCO last year rebuked the Queensland and federal government for failing to inform it about two major liquefied natural gas projects on Curtis Island.Mr MacFadzean ...

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UNESCO: cruise ships may prove damaging to Venice

UNESCO urged the Italian government to restrict the access of cruise ships to Venice United Nations cultural body UNESCO urged the Italian government to restrict the access of cruise ships to World Heritage Site Venice in the wake of the Costa Concordia cruise ship disaster.In a statement, Paris-based UNESCO said it had called on the Italian government "to restrict access of large ships to culturally and ecologically important areas, particularly Venice and its lagoon which are visited by some 300 large cruise ships a year."It said cruise liner traffic in Venice "is particularly damaging because of the fragile structure of the city."The ships cause water tides that erode the foundations of buildings. They contribute to pollution and impact the cityscape as they dwarf monuments in the heart of the city," UNESCO said, according to AFP.The Costa Concordia had 4,229 people on board from more than 60 countries when it hit rocks and keeled over earlier this month, prompting a chaotic evacuation that included a fight for life jackets and life boats among panicked passengers.At least 15 people were known to have died in the accident as of Monday and 17 people were still missing.Amid efforts to eventually pump out hundreds ...

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UN Agencies unveil ten proposals to safeguard the ocean

The Blueprint for Ocean and Coastal Sustainability United Nations agencies in Paris today launched a plan to improve the management of oceans and coastal areas. The Blueprint for Ocean and Coastal Sustainability sounds the alarm about the health of the oceans, and explains how they influence our everyday life by regulating the climate, providing highly-nutritious and by sustaining livelihoods and economies.It recalls that although the ocean accounts for 70 per cent of the surface of our planet, only one per cent of it is protected. Presented at the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Headquarters during the 36th session of the General Conference, the Blueprint was prepared for consideration by the UN conference on sustainable development (Rio+20, June 2012). It proposes a series of concrete measures to:Create a global blue carbon market as a means of creating direct economic gain through habitat protectionFill governance gaps in the high seas, by reinforcing the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)Support the development of green economies in small island developing statesPromote research on ocean acidification- how to adapt to it and mitigate it.Increase institutional capacity for scientific monitoring of oceans and coastal areasReform and reinforce regional ocean ...

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