The fate of the Great Barrier Reef will be sealed in the next five years, according to scientists who say if the Government wants to save the reef it is "now or never".
Researchers from James Cook University are pushing for all sides of Government to commit $10 billion over the next decade to ensure its survival.
Chief research officer Jon Brodie said without the funding whoever is in power could give up on any chance of maintaining the reef's heritage status.
Mr Brodie said one of the major threats to the reef was poor water quality.
He is proposing the $10 billion be spent on investing in better on-farm practices for the cane and cattle industries, creating stronger reef and catchment management, and undertaking projects to improve water quality in catchment areas, especially for areas subject to nitrogen-rich agricultural runoff.
"That number comes from a number of water quality improvement plans, each of which costed to clean up water quality to meet the standards required in the Great Barrier Reef's long-term sustainability plan," Mr Brodie said.
Mr Brodie said he did not think $10 billion was a big ask given the reef's worth.
"It's not, at a billion dollars a year, the reef's worth $20 billion a year. A billion dollars a year is trivia," he said.
Mr Brodie said he did not think the current measures went far enough.
He said a huge amount of work to save the reef needed to happen within the next five years, making the next term of government vital.
"After that, I think it will be too late. So, I think it's either now or never really," Mr Brodie said.....
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-05-19/'now-or-never'-for-the-great-barrier-reef's-fate/7427484