Pesticides are threatening the Great Barrier Reef and our national pesticides watchdog is failing to act.
Farm chemicals are running into the Reef at concentrations known to cause harm to our precious marine life.
Pesticides are designed to kill weeds. But once the weeds are dead, pesticides are being washed away into rivers, estuaries and eventually coral reefs, where they can continue to kill marine plants and threaten the animals that depend on them.
Pesticides are silent killers, they can't be 'seen' in Reef waters, but we know they are there. Action is needed now to ban these dangerous poisons.
The Reef is home to peaceful dugongs, ancient turtles and beautiful dolphins. The habitat of these animals is at risk from chemical pollution.
Pesticide pollution is eroding the 'resilience' of the Reef - this means its ability to absorb shocks and recover from stress. We must remove this stress on the Reef, so it has the best possible chance to withstand the looming impact of climate change.
We need to act now. We want our national pesticide watchdog - the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority, to take a safer approach and give the benefit of the doubt to human health and the environment, not to the pesticides industry. Click here to read WWF's submission to the review.
