North Queensland Conservation Council’s members and supporters gathered this morning outside a Reef Summit meeting being put on by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, dismayed at news reports this week that half of the Great Barrier Reef may already be dead. (See: Terry Hughes tweet, Dr Russell Reichelt in Monday’s Senate Estimates)

Dozens of concerned locals met at Townsville Bulletin Square to create a moving visual representation of coral mortality.

“This is an unprecedented tragedy. It appears half of the Reef may be dead following back-to-back bleaching events in 2016 and 2017” said NQCC Coordinator Maree Dibella.

“Climate change isn’t a future possibility. The climate has already changed by 0.7 degrees and we’ve seen how this small increase has devastated the Reef. It’s absolutely crucial we take every effort to limit climate change to 1.5 degrees if we have any hope of the Reef remaining for the next generation.”

“We need smart and swift action right now. This means no new coal projects. That starts by stopping Adani’s mine. Today we’re calling upon the State Government to rule out cutting a royalties deal with Adani. We are also asking the Federal Government to not hand Adani $1 billion of Australian taxpayers’ money to prop up this otherwise failing project.”

“People at the rally want to see the Reef survive bleaching events and sea temperature rise. We need to protect the near 70,000 jobs that rely on a healthy Reef ecosystem. We want investment in our region for long-term, sustainable jobs, not coal jobs liable to a typical mining boom and bust cycle.”

More photos in this photo album.

North Queensland Conservation Council is shocked by the figures revealed in today's Senate Estimates by the head of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, Dr Russell Reichelt . The 2016 coral bleaching event resulted in 30% mortality, and the results of the 2017 bleaching event surveys show a further 19% has died.

"Never before has a back-to-back coral bleaching event occurred on the Great Barrier Reef. Climate change isn't a future-tense possibility. It's happening. The climate has changed. It appears half of the Reef is dead" said NQCC Coordinator Maree Dibella.

"We need smart and swift action right now, otherwise we face losing the Reef within one generation. That means no new coal projects, and a rapid transition to renewable energy. This starts with stopping Adani" said Ms Dibella.

On the 11^th of August, NQCC staffers Maree Dibella and Jacob Miller attended Hon. Dr Steven Miles’ presentation on the challenges facing the Great Barrier Reef, as the Virginia Chadwick Memorial Lecture. Dr Miles unveiled the findings of a report by the Water Science Taskforce that details an $8.2 billion strategy to save the reef over the next decade.

The strategy is to reduce the amount of sediment that runs off into the reef by managing vegetation clearing and addressing gully erosion. Of particular concern is the Fitzroy catchment near Rockhampton, taking about three-quarters of the recommended funding, as well as the Burdekin catchment to the south of Townsville, which requires $1.39 billion for rehabilitation.

Welcome to the May edition of Paperbark!

With a new month comes a new acting coordinator. I, Maree, would like to thank Wendy Tubman for her enormous contributions to NQCC over the past years in the position of coordinator. Filling her role is a responsibility I’m not taking lightly and I am diving straight into continuing the good work of NQCC as the voice for the environment.

In this issue: Pollution Free Politics, Vegetation Management, two movie screenings, Eco-Fiesta, a solar farm for Townsville, Adani in court, government attacks environmental groups, Coastcare and more.

In this issue: No Underground Coal Gasification for Queensland - 93% of the Reef is bleached - Queensland Weed and Pest Management - Magnetic Island Rehab - Rescuing the Reef - Beach Rubbish - Climate Change and Flood Risks - Other Local Voices

A newsletter packed with things that you can do to help NQCC and other ENGOs to help the environnment. But first, some good and some very bad news…

This is the text of a media release distributed by NQCC on Monday 14 March:

North Queensland Conservation Council is extremely concerned that coral bleaching in the Far North of the Great Barrier Reef is now so bad that the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA) has upped its response to level 2.

In the light of this, NQCC calls on government to prevent further Reef degradation by taking strong action on climate change and better financing water quality improvement programs.