Mining projects may attract bank financing as Great Barrier Reef recovers

Bank financing for mining projects such as Adani Australia and Tatas in Indonesia is expected to revive with almost two-thirds of the Great Barrier Reef in Australia making a sharp recovery and recording the highest amount of coral cover in nearly four decades. Foreign banks were earlier hesitant to lend to the coal mining projects citing potential damage to the Great Barrier Reef – a UNESCO-protected area.

As per a report by the Australian Institute of Marine Science, a government agency, over the past 36 years of monitoring by it, the coral reefs in the region have shown an ability to begin recovery after disturbances. In the past, the Great Barrier Reef has suffered from widespread and severe bleaching because of rising ocean temperatures.