Despite two years of widespread bleaching, the United Nations' World Heritage Committee decided not to list the Great Barrier Reef off Queensland as "in danger".

Federal Environment Minister Josh Frydenberg called it "big win for Australia".  At its meeting in Poland, the World Heritage Committee (WHC) welcomed Australia's progress in the Federal Government's Reef 2050 plan to protect the irreplaceable treasure.

"We are reducing the nitrogen and the sediment run off, we are tackling crown of thorns starfish which is a natural predator to the coral and we are taking every action possible to ensure this great wonder of the world stays viable and healthy for future generations to come," said Mr. Frydenberg in an interview with ABC Radio.

But the WHC's statement strongly urged Australia "to accelerate efforts to ensure meeting intermediate and long-term targets of the plan, which are essential to the overall resilience of the property, in particular regarding water quality".

Greenpeace and other environmental groups maintain the Reef 2050 strategy is inadequate because it doesn't address climate change.

 

"The Australian public has every right to feel betrayed by the Australian government," said Greenpeace campaigner Alix Foster Vander Elst in an interview with the Huffington Post.  "Climate change needs to be addressed if the reef is to be protected.  The Australian Government needs to stop investing in fossil fuels, to have a moratorium on new coal mines and start looking to renewable energy if it has any hope of protecting the Great Barrier Reef."