Australia: Activists Protest at Gladstone Harbour

About a dozen Anti-Coal activists led by Greenpeace staged a protest at Gladstone Harbour yesterday.

Greenpeace spokeswoman Julie Macken says the activists used two boats to paint the message, “the reef is in danger” on the side of a coal ship.

A United Nations mission visited Gladstone yesterday  to assess the impact of gas and port developments on the reef. They declared a federal government claim that coal seam gas developments would have minimal impact on the Great Barrier Reef “may be untrue.”

Representatives from the organization will spend the next nine days visiting the reef, one of the world’s most important environmental assests, and meeting with scientists and developers.

The co-ordinator of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Centre’s marine program, Fanny Douvere, yesterday declared the reef is ”at a crossroads” and needs the government’s protection, ”not just for Australians but for humanity as a whole”.

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Dredging Today Staff, March 7, 2012; Image: westernbasinportdevelopment