Almost $2 billion in the next decade will be spent by Australia’s government to hopefully save the Great Barrier Reef, including $171 million in funding this year to destroy invasive species and address coral bleaching.
[related title=”2016 Australian Federal Budget” tag=”budget-2016″ items=”5″]
Business Insider reports that the government has allocated $171 million in this year’s 2016-17 Federal Budget to. Federal environmental minister Greg Hunt said in a statement that the funding would go towards scientific attempts including “improving water quality and coastal habitats, mitigating outbreaks of crown-of-thorn starfish and protecting threatened and migratory species such as dugongs and turtles”.
$70 million will go to the Reef Trust, which is responsible for water quality monitoring and improvement, and $100 million to the National Landcare Program. The $2 billion figure is a projection, and is subject to future governments’ budget intervention, but will be a dedication towards the future health of the reef in the face of a changing climate. Says Hunt: “this is part of a projected investment of more than $2 billion from Australian governments to protect the Great Barrier Reef over the next decade.”