The latest report card by the government shows that there is only marginal progress in achieving water quality targets, validating some of the concerns expressed by UNESCO about the reef’s plight, according to the Queensland government.

Queensland Environment Minister Steven Miles, who released the report on Monday, said there was more bad news than good in the report.

Only 28% of graziers were managing their pastures properly to protect the reef, the report found. The target for all of these practices is 90% by 2018. The decision was largely influenced by Queensland government’s ambitious Reef 2050 Long-Term Sustainability Plan, which has identified improving the reef’s water quality as one of the keys to restoring its health.

Dr Miles said the results highlighted the challenge of gaining significant progress in improved land management at a reef-wide scale.

Dr Miles said there was room for improvement from industry, in particular sugarcane.

“The actions on ground by cane growers through the Australian Governments Reef Programme and its predecessor Reef Rescue will continue to have a legacy for water quality on the Great Barrier Reef”.

“Catchment loads modelling, which models the change in key pollutants entering the reef as a result of reported improvements in management practice systems showed continued progress in reducing runoff. Inshore seagrass showed signs of recovery in some regions, but remained in poor condition overall”, the report said. Run-off of sediment, nitrogen particles and pesticides into the reef declined by 12%, 11.5% and 30.5% respectively, during the assessment period.

Mr Hunt said while there are improvements, further work is required.

The Great Barrier Reef has lost half its coral cover in the past 30 years and faces its greatest threat from climate change, with warming, acidifying waters risking the future of corals and numerous 1,500 fish species and 3,000 types of mollusc that rely upon them.

“It takes time for improvements in land management to translate into measurable outcomes in marine condition, ” he said.

The reef needed more time to recover from major episodic events such as floods, chairman of the independent science panel for the Reef Water Quality Protection Plan, Roger Shaw, said.

Pollution from agricultural land continues to damage the reef.

“If this was your kid’s school report card, you’d be a bit disappointed”, Dr Miles told the gathering of worldwide waterway experts.