Exploring Effective Water Quality Offsetting for the Great Barrier Reef
Queensland regions can enhance water quality offsets by learning from biodiversity efforts to protect the Great Barrier Reef.
Complete the form below to unlock access to ALL audio articles.
Summary
A study by The University of Queensland highlights how water quality offsets can be improved in regions like Cairns and Mackay. The research emphasizes the importance of effective measurement and integrity in offsetting strategies to counterbalance industrial pollution, particularly from sewage treatment plants, for the health of the Great Barrier Reef.
Key Takeaways
New research shows how growing Queensland regions can learn from biodiversity and carbon offsetting efforts to better meet water quality targets.
The study, led by The University of Queensland researcher Joseph McMahon from the Reef Catchments Science Partnership, explores how the integrity of water quality offsets – critical to protecting the health of the Great Barrier Reef – can improve, especially in areas with growing populations such as Cairns and Mackay.
“Water quality offsets are designed to counterbalance industrial pollution by reducing emissions elsewhere, often from agricultural sources,” Mr McMahon said.
Want more breaking news?
Subscribe to Technology Networks’ daily newsletter, delivering breaking science news straight to your inbox every day.
Subscribe for FREE“However, our study highlights substantial uncertainties in the effectiveness of this approach, especially in accurately measuring pollution reductions from agricultural land use changes.
“In this study, we summarised these uncertainties and estimated the demand for water quality offsets from sewage treatment plants – the largest industrial emitter of total nitrogen in Great Barrier Reef catchments – until 2050.
“We also discussed the implications of both on the ability of offsetting to counterbalance industrial emissions in catchments where water quality has a large influence on the Reef’s health.”
Researchers found that sewage treatment plants will require a large volume of water quality offsets by 2050 in Cairns, and a small volume of offsets immediately in Mackay.
“It’s particularly important that water quality offsets in these catchments have a high integrity to ensure increased industrial pollution is adequately counterbalanced and important water quality targets for the Reef are met,” Mr McMahon said.
“Water quality offsets could help industries like sewage treatment plants comply with regulations while also protecting the Reef, but uncertainties in measuring their effectiveness pose challenges.
“Some examples of water quality offsets these regions could employ include improved crop management practices and riverbank revegetation to improve water quality in waterways in Reef catchment areas.
“In general, if agricultural offsets are implemented near industrial emissions and have a high certainty of effectiveness, they are more likely to have a high integrity.
“This allows industries to comply with regulations while protecting the Reef from pollution linked to population growth.
"This approach provides a balance between scientific rigour and policy workability until further research into pollution hotspots and transport pathways can address some of the uncertainties.”
Reference: McMahon JM, Turner RDR, Smart JCR, et al. Offset integrity reduces environmental risk: Using lessons from biodiversity and carbon offsetting to inform water quality offsetting in the catchments of the Great Barrier Reef. Sci Total Environ. 2024;951:175786. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.175786
This article has been republished from the following materials. Note: material may have been edited for length and content. For further information, please contact the cited source. Our press release publishing policy can be accessed here.
This content includes text that has been generated with the assistance of AI. Technology Networks' AI policy can be found here.
