Aussie icon Olivia Newton-John, musician John Butler and model Laura Wells are some of the ocean champions and celebrities calling for better protection of the Great Barrier Reef.
WWF Australia has released a video featuring prominent marine conservationists Philippe Cousteau and Sylvia Earle as well as some famous faces to champion WWF’s global Draw the Line campaign, which calls on the UNESCO World Heritage Committee to make a strong decision on the Reef’s future.
In the one-minute video, Cousteau, Earle, Newton-John, Butler and Wells join children and families around the world in pledging their support to the Reef’s turtles, dolphins and dugongs. They then accept the role of Reef Ambassador and pledge to ‘draw the line’ on dredging, shipping, port development and pollution of the Reef.
Cousteau, co-founder and president of EarthEcho International and grandson of the undersea explorer Jacques Cousteau, said that strong public support was needed to send a clear message to UNESCO that people from all walks of life want the Great Barrier Reef protected into the future, but that time is something we don’t have.
“Simply put, either we make changes now or the Reef continues to decline. Scientists say that the Reef is in serious danger and it’s estimated that it will be decimated by the end of this century.
“When the World Heritage Committee meets to make its landmark decision on the Reef next week, it must know that the world is watching. We can no longer be passive participants in this great journey that we’re on to build a sustainable future that we all deserve,” he said.
Watch the video above for yourself.
