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HOW HEALTHY ARE OUR WATERWAYS?CRC Reef Research Centre Ltd has won an international contract worth $250,000 to report on the health of coastal waterways and high seas in the southeast Asian region. "CRC Reef will assess water quality in the South China Sea, Arafura/Timor Seas, plus all Australian and New Zealand waters," said Dr Reichelt, CEO of CRC Reef Research Centre Ltd. "This project is the first phase of the Global International Water Assessment project," said Dr Reichelt. "GIWA will involve other scientists from around the world to assess global water quality and the health of ecosystems." "We will produce a set of reports for the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP)," he said. "We only have 12 months to submit our reports to UNEP, so CRC Reef will be mainly summarising existing knowledge through expert workshops in Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia and Indonesia. The workshops will involve up to 50 scientists from throughout our region," said Dr Reichelt. "CRC Reef was approached to do the work because its members have the skills needed for the assessments in this region," said Dr Reichelt. "Scientists from the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) will play a key role in the project." "The review will cover ecological, social and economic aspects of water quality and how this effects the health of oceans and bays," said Dr Clive Wilkinson, Principal Research Scientist at AIMS and Coordinator of the Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network. " For example, in some countries the availability of clean drinking water is a human health issue whereas in others, coastal pollution is a health and economic issue resulting in the death of coral reefs and valuable fisheries." "CRC Reef will continue to seek international work for its members, earning exports through our knowledge rather than by exporting people," said Dr Reichelt. " We expect to coordinate this project through a new international project office being established soon in Townsville." CRC Reef has been contracted by the University of Kalmar in Sweden to conduct this project. The University of Kalmar is the main executing agency of the GIWA which is led by UNEP and funded by the Global Environment Facility. For more information call |
