Land Run-Off

Land run-off is another major issue threatening the Great Barrier Reef. Run-off from the land runs into rivers and these rivers go to the ocean and are deposited into the Great Barrier Reef waters. The concern is that the run-off consists of many pollutants such as pesticides and fertilizers used for farming, sewage, garbage and any harmful materials from work or construction being done on the coast, to name a few. (Cooperative Research Centre for the Great Barrier Reef.)

According to a 2003 article from New Scientist, run-off from agriculture alone has "reduced coral cover and biodiversity in recent years." Pesticides are used by farmers to rid crops of unwanted bugs and pests. Fertilizer is used to make plants grow, however it contains nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. These are two of the main pollutants effecting the quality of water in the reef. Obviously if these elements have negative effects on humans and bugs, they are going to have negative effects on marine life as well.


Photo Credit: PharmacyEscrow Blog

In 2003, the Australian government put almost $11 million into The Reef Water Quality Protection plan, whose goal is to increase the quality of water going into the Great Barrier Reef. The two main goals of the plan are to "halt and reverse the decline in water quality entering the Reef by 2013, and to ensure that by 2020 the quality of water quality entering the Reef from adjacent catchments has no detrimental impact on the health and resilience of the Great Barrier Reef." (Reef Water Quality Protection Plan.)

The Reef Water Quality Protection Plan works with individual land owners to make them aware of the effect of run-off on the environment, and by helping them "adopt land management practices that maximise reef water quality improvements." (Reef Plan Priority Areas) They also measure the effectiveness of the Reef Plan by monitoring and measuring the changes in the quality of water going into the reef. In 2009, the Reef Water Quality Protection Plan was updated with a "more concerted and accelerated approach by the governments." (Australian Government Department of Education, Water, Heritage and the Arts)


Photo Credit: Australian Government Lands and Coasts

Here is a link to the Reef Water Quality Protection Plan's progress reports.

This is an interesting video about how scientists use information they gather from the reef to measure the decline in the quality of water over the years: Research into Declining Water Quality