Pesticide active ingredients (PAIs) are regularly detected in the rivers, creeks, wetlands, and inshore waterways that discharge to the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) lagoon. Pesticide active ingredients detected above ecologically protective concentrations may pose a hazard and risk to aquatic species. The ability to assess this hazard and risk is reliant on the availability of water quality guidelines, which are only available for a limited number of PAIs detected in GBR catchment waterways.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEnvironmental offsetting has been developed as a mechanism to facilitate the benefits from economic development while avoiding or minimizing environmental harm. This is achieved by compensating for environmental impacts at one location by generating equivalent environmental improvements elsewhere. However, experience with biodiversity and carbon offsetting indicates it can be difficult to ensure the integrity of offsets.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPesticide active ingredients are frequently detected in the rivers, creeks, wetlands, estuaries, and marine waters of the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) region and are one of the main contributors to poor water quality. Pesticide concentrations detected in the environment through water quality monitoring programs can be compared against estimates of ecologically "safe" concentrations (i.e.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAgricultural run-off in Australia's Mackay-Whitsunday region is a major source of nutrient and pesticide pollution to coastal and inshore ecosystems of the Great Barrier Reef. While the effects of run-off are well documented for the region's coral and seagrass habitats, the ecological impacts on estuaries, the direct recipients of run-off, are less known. This is particularly true for fish communities, which are shaped by the physico-chemical properties of coastal waterways that vary greatly in tropical regions.
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