Worldwide, marine debris is one of the most serious threats facing oceans and coastal areas, something also threatening our communities and wildlife in South East Queensland.
Waterway and marine litter impact the environment, the economy, health, and culture causing significant harm.
Photo credit: NASA
A new strategic plan is being developed to ensure that runoff from urban areas is managed according to the world’s best practices to protect water quality in the Great Barrier Reef.
The plan is being driven by an active collaboration, which has been tackling the issues associated with urban water runoff in the region for over 11 years.
The Great Barrier Reef’s conservation status was recently downgraded from “significant concern” to “critical” in a concerning recent world heritage outlook report released by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the official advisory body on nature to the UNESCO World Heritage Committee.
The environment of street trees in urban areas can be harsh as large amounts of impervious surfaces, like footpaths and roads, prevent water from reaching trees and hard structures obstruct roots and prevent trees from growing.
