Documentary Australia Foundation

Muddy Waters: Life and Death on the Great Barrier Reef

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Synopsis

By 2010, forty per cent of the world's coral reefs may be dead. By 2030, half of the Great Barrier Reef may be gone. Parts of it are already dying, but the reasons have not always been clear. Global warming and outbreaks of crown-of-thorns starfish have put extraordinary pressure on the reef. Now scientists have identified another threat - sediments, fertilisers and pesticides from agricultural run-off.

The reefs most at risk lie along Australia's northeastern coast between Cairns and Townsville. This is the heart of the wet tropics where high rainfall regularly causes rivers like the Tully to flood, sending huge plumes of mud and chemicals into the sea. In their natural state, native wetlands filter the rain and silt but more than sixty per cent has been cleared and drained for sugarcane. Sugarcane farmers, suffering bad seasons and low prices, are reeling at the prospect that their land management practices may be part of the problem. Some locals are trying to bring all the parties together to develop a workable solution, but leading the way can be hard work.

Muddy Waters journeys to the plantations of north Queensland and into an underwater world to find out what's killing the reef and what can be done to save it. It's the story of a small community facing the challenges of responsibility and change. This time, what's at stake is one of the world's greatest natural treasures.

Impact

PRESS

'Fifty or so cane farmers, some of them fourth generation from Tully in Queensland gather in a shed to listen to academics tell them what has to be done to limit damage to the Great Barrier Reef. The tension prickles off the screen. The farmers deny there's any evidence of harm. But they are given a blunt assessment in return. 'If you weren't so close to the Barrier Reef it wouldn't be an issue but you are' says Sheridan Morris from the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority. The competing demands of economic development and the protection of the environment could hardly be better illustrated than in a story about the threat to Australia's Great Barrier Reef.'
THE AUSTRALIAN

This documentary was developed in 2000 after the first major case of coral bleaching occurred on the Great Barrier Reef as a result of high sea surface temperatures and what are known now as symptoms of global warming. Scientists were alarmed and so was the filmmaker. But in researching the story the filmmaker discovered a greater problem closer to home and that was the effects of too many farm chemicals on the inshore reefs and the regeneration of young corals. When the story finally went to air in May 2002 it coincided with the Queensland Beattie Government announcing new 'green zones for the Great Barrier Reef as well as restrictions on land clearing. The documentary was applauded by the science community and has been screened widely around Australia and internationally as an 'enviro-science documentary'. It has sold well internationally and won a number of awards.

Best Environment and Conservation Award Japanese Wildlife Film Festival August 2003.

Nominated UN Media Peace Prize 2003

Award for the Best Documentary on Sustainable Development

The British Environment and Media Awards 2003

Awarded Bronze Medal Italian Film Festival Prix Leonardo

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