Summary
8 March 2012
A research group has arrived in Australia to investigate concerns of damage to the Great Barrier Reef. Environmentalists are demanding that all industrial development is stopped until a government check is completed.
Reporter
Phil Mercer
A stingray enjoying the Great Barrier Reef
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Report
The UNESCO delegation will investigate concerns that the mining industry is damaging the Great Barrier Reef. The exploitation of oil and gas is driving industrial expansion along much of the northern Queensland coast, including plans for the world's biggest coal port near the town of Bowen.
The Australian government has imposed strict guidelines to protect marine life and ensure water quality.
But environmentalists want the authorities to suspend all new developments while an official review of the health of the Great Barrier Reef is carried out.
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Vocabulary
- delegation
people sent to act as representatives
- mining
process of digging into the ground
- expansion
the process of spreading out
- coal
black rock used for energy
- imposed
put into place
- marine
relating to the sea
- ensure
make certain
- suspend
stop for a short time
- review
report into something
- carried out
made to happen
