(EnergyAsia, March 11 2012, Monday) — UNESCO, the UN’s environmental unit, said it will not be able to protect the Great Barrier Reef, one of the world’s oldest and most important eco-systems, from potential long-term damage arising from Australia’s growing trade of oil, gas and minerals with Asia.

A UNESCO team, now on a study visit of the World Heritage site in response to environmental concerns, said the Australian government has the ultimate responsibility to protect the world’s largest coral reef system which comprises over 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands stretched over a 344,400 sq km area off the coast of Queensland state.

Unlike the US and Europe, Australia’s economy is prospering from an unprecedented mining boom to meet the Asia’s rising demand for energy and natural resources.

Some of the biggest projects involve developing liquefied natural gas (LNG) from coal-seam gas (CSM) reserves in northern Queensland facing the ocean. As the next phase of development, Australia is opening up the largely untouched Galilee Basin to potentially yield 240 million tonnes of coal a year for export to Asia that could have long-term negative impact on more than 2,800-km of the reef.

The team has interviewed environmental groups, tour operators and local fishing communities as well as representatives of the mining industry to ascertain conditions on the ground and prospects for damage. It is scheduled to meet with Australia’s Environment Minister Tony Burke on March 14 with a view to recommending that UNESCO re-classify the Great Barrier Reef as a “World Heritage Site in Danger”.

Regardless of UNESCO’s finding due out in July and Canberra’s response, Greenpeace is looking to raise A$6 million to launch Australia’s biggest environmental campaign to stop further work on coal and CSM-to-LNG projects which also been blamed for contaminating drinking water and arable farmland.

Greenpeace has prepared a detailed “Stop the Australian Coal Export Boom” report outlining its strategy to target the industry in general and stop all work in the Galilee Basin in particular.

The Australian government and business and mining leaders have slammed the proposed campaign as irresponsible, reckless and irrational for its potential to derail the best performing economy in the developed world.

The Australian Coal Association (ACA) said the visit by UNESCO provides an opportunity for a constructive discussion on “responsible planning” as the A$43-billion industry “shares fully the concerns” of the Australian and international community to protect the Great Barrier Reef.

ACA chief executive, Nikki Williams, said the industry, the state and federal governments and various marine and port agencies will showcase the country’s world-leading environmental practices. Its Cumulative Environmental Impact Assessment at the coal export terminal at Port of Abbot Point is an industry initiative that includes “a Reef-wide study to assess impacts from increased ship movements and ensure rigorous management of further industry development and ongoing protection of our natural environment.”

India’s Adani Group acquired Abbott Point last year with plans to turn it into the world’s largest coal export port that could contribute to more than 10,000 coal-laden ships cross the Great Barrier Reef each year by the end of the decade, up six times from 2011.

Amid the growing trade between Asia and Australia, environmentalists and marine experts have good reason to fear for the health of the Great Barrier Reef, which is home to a rich diversity of marine life and food source linked to the world’s oceans.

On April 3 2010, a Chinese-registered vessel carrying coal for Asia spilled around two tonnes of oil after running aground on the Douglas Shoal in the Great Barrier Reef.

The Shen Neng 1 had strayed more than 10 km off the approved shipping lane, scraping the reef over more than three km to leave behind permanent damage to corals and marine life, the worst in the area’s history.