Australia's government was accused Monday of putting one of the world's natural wonders at risk by stripping funding to key research centers tracking threats to the Great Barrier Reef.Science Minister Peter McGauran confirmed Monday that three cooperative research centers (CRC) focussed on the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area would not be funded beyond 2005 because they had failed to meet government budget guidelines.
He said the centers -- collaborative efforts between universities, state agencies and the private sector -- failed to draw greater industry participation into their work and to commercialise their research.
But Queensland state Premier Peter Beattie said the move would undermine efforts to save the Great Barrier Reef from threats like coral bleaching and pollution.
"What it means in a nutshell is that we're flying blind about the future of the reef and that's the problem," he said.
"You need to have the science to give us the eyes to see how to protect it," he said. "This is really bad news for the reef."
The Great Barrier Reef stretches over more than 345,000 square kilometers (133,000 square miles) off Queensland's coast and is home to 1,500 fish species.
Considered the world's largest living organism, the network of coral reefs is the centerpiece of a multi-billion dollar annual tourism industry and has been listed by the United Nations as a world heritage site.
In March, parliament adopted legislation banning fishing from a third of the reef as part of a vast program aimed at saving the area from damage from over-use and pollution.
The science and research spokesman for the opposition Labor Party, Kim Carr, said the condemned centers were "critical to the health of the reef."
"They underpin good management of the whole World Heritage Area," he said.
But McGauran defended the government's decision.
"We believe that under this program there has to be a greater industry focus, both by way of participation and the commercialisation of the eventual research.
"So, I'm sorry if some CRCs do not get refunded but, under this particular program, they're the rules."
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