Australia’s A$60 million plan for Great Barrier Reef won’t work

imageBROKER/REX/Shutterstock

The Australian government’s new plan to save the Great Barrier Reef won’t work, say environmental groups.

On Monday, the government pledged an extra A$60 million in funding to protect the natural icon. Most of the funding will go towards removing crown-of-thorns starfish, which eat coral, and preventing farm run-off from entering the reef.

Indeed, these are major threats to the Great Barrier Reef. Crown-of-thorns starfish were responsible for almost half the coral lost between 1985 and 2012. Sludge washing off farms has also been shown to smother coral and other marine organisms.

However, the most