The Great Barrier Reef could be named as endangered by the UN's World Heritage Committee next month.
A long-awaited assessment of the reef by UNESCO and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), released on Friday said decisive action must be taken to avoid a listing.
The report said the federal and Queensland governments had failed to improve water quality or halt coastal developments that could affect the reef, AAP reports.
Only one annual water quality report card has been published, in 2011, which covered 2009. A second report card was due in early 2012, but is yet to be delivered.
The report also said there has been no clear commitment by the either federal or Queensland governments to limit port developments near the reef. Instead about 43 proposals are under assessment.
"The World Heritage Centre and IUCN ... recommend that the committee consider the Great Barrier Reef for inscription on the list of World Heritage in Danger ... in absence of a firm and demonstrable commitment on these priority issues, " the report said.
Greens call for more action
Greens senator Larissa Waters called on Liberal and Labor to support a Senate bill which would adopt the World Heritage Committee's recommendations as law.
Prime Minister Julia Gillard said the federal government was committed to keeping the reef a great heritage area for the world.
"In the last couple of weeks I announced a $200 million reef rescue commitment," she told reporters in Melbourne. We are very committed and we'll continue to pursue those kind of commitments in the future."
The only other world heritage sites in danger, that are not in a developing country or an active war zone, are the UK's Liverpool Maritime Mercantile City and the Everglades in Florida.
