The Wire

A global lobbying effort by the Australian government gained support from twelve World Heritage Committee countries on Friday night to block UNESCO from labeling the Great Barrier Reef as a site” in danger”.

Australia will now be required to report back to UNESCO in six months on its reef policy as well as host a UN mission to the reef to determine the future of the site’s listing. The ruling comes as a proposal for a coal mine located 10km from the Great Barrier Reef awaits a final decision by federal environmental minister Sussan Ley over whether it will proceed.