It may roo the day: Oz wins fight to keep Barrier Reef off endangered list

Australia succeeded in efforts to prevent the Great Barrier Reef from being listed as endangered by a UN organisation after a diplomacy blitz.

Members of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation committee on Friday voted against proposals to add the landmark to a list of at-risk World Heritage Sites, a move that would have triggered demands for additional conservation work.

“Without a site visit, no desired state of conservation, no corrective measure, and the absence of an agreed climate policy, an immediate endangered-listing will only harm the reef, not protect it,” Australia’s environment minister Sussan Ley told the committee...