Australia is going to drop an $8 million cash bomb on the floor of the United Nations chamber tomorrow where the country has been called to account over its perceived lack of protection for the Great Barrier Reef.

Environment Minister Greg Hunt is to be given one minute to speak to UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee and its 21-member world delegation over why the reef should not be put on a “danger” list.

As part of a draft plan for protecting the reef from further degradation from farm fertiliser run off and other now shelved plans for ports expansion, dredging, and dumping of dredge spoil in the oceans, Hunt is set to say another $8 million will be provided for monitoring and reporting “to the world”.

The Integrated Monitoring and Reporting Programme, to be coordinated by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, would lock in the commitment to deliver Prime Minister Tony Abbott’s Reef 2050 Plan.

Both the Federal and Queensland State governments have been under immense pressure to prove it is taking global concern over the state of the reef seriously. Both had already pledged $485 million this year and the cash drop in the chamber in Bonn Germany is being seen as a last minute sweetener.

Hunt and Queensland deputy Queensland premier Jackie Trad are in the western German city of Bonn, where the reef’s future is one of the central discussions at the UNESCO session, on the agenda with discussion on lost ancient world structures in Syria and Iraq.

A danger listing would effectively lock out Australia’s future development of ports and mining exploration and curtail the $6 billion a year tourism industry and shipping trade.

Federal Cabinet had also been warned it could significantly affect vital commodities trade with European banks, notably Deutsche Bank, unlikely to want to back any resource project that could be an environmental concern or indirectly affect a UN danger protected reef covering 348,000sqkm of north eastern coastline.

Australia had faced the prospect of international humiliation with a UNESCO censure, alongside nations like Yemen, Afghanistan and Syria, with disquiet from member states including Germany over Australia’s perceived lack of concern for the reef’s health and welfare.

But a move last month by Hunt to ban dumping of sediment from new dredging projects about the reef, plus the new $8-million for monitoring and reporting, is expected to be enough to convince delegates to back a draft long-term protection plan and leave the site off the danger list.

Some delegates have privately said the dredging ban had been enough to convince their member nations Australia had “woken up” to its international responsibilities over the world’s most loved natural icon.

Ms Trad, who enjoys bipartisan support with her federal counterpart on the issue, said such was the “reasonably unpredictable” forum, support was not yet guaranteed and objections or amendments could still be raised.

“It could go either way, it’s still unpredictable,” she said. “What has happened is the committee members have digested the draft report, there seems to be reasonable support for the draft and there is good feedback (but) I think it is important we don’t take anything for granted, we don’t come to the committee hearing thinking it’s all done and dusted, that’s not our approach and we appreciate how significant this decision is.”

Yesterday she met with the WWF, Greenpeace and officials likely to talk about the issue in the grand UN chamber in Bonn.

She said she was not surprised by the rest of the world’s concern over the issue, with the reef a much loved site.

“I’m incredibly heartened that the world cares so much about the Great Barrier Reef,” she said.

Australia’s lack of perceived concern for the reef, by at one stage both the federal and Queensland state governments seemingly set to allow dredge spoil from the Abbot Point port expansion on the north Queensland coast being dumped offshore.

That policy changed but the delegation still believes the World Heritage reef issue was separate from the Galilee Basin mining project in western Queensland, potentially the largest coal mine in the world. Greenpeace created a mural display outside the large chamber where UNESCO is meeting to passively protest the broader mining issue.

The WWF also built a large reef display where people from across Europe contributed to the more than 700 crochet fish and other sea creatures.

“The Australian government is now in probation, that’s the way we see it, so this display is to remind everyone to stay strong in their commitment,” spokeswoman Britta Koenig said.