Abstract Summary
The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park has for decades been the pinnacle of marine park management. With global climate change putting great pressure on the Great Barrier Reef particularly through two consecutive mass bleaching events (2016-2017), which impacted reefs globally. There have also been ten severe category cyclones since 2005 and record breaking floods between 2009 and 2012 that have impacted the Great Barrier Reef. In response there is a critical need for innovative and urgent management to support resilience of the Great Barrier Reef. Over the last 40 years the focus of the Authority’s management in the Great Barrier Reef has been to support resilience by reducing local pressures, particularly from declining water quality, fishing and coastal development. While these approaches have worked well for over 40 years they are proving on their own to be insufficient in the face of climate related extreme weather. The previous approach of ‘conserve and protect’ is no longer considered sufficient. The current declining state of the Great Barrier Reef has highlighted the need for a more ‘hands-on’ interventionist approach. This is proving to be a major paradigm shift in the management of the Marine Park. In response to this challenge the Authority is further developing its risk and benefit-based approach to reef intervention projects. The approach takes into consideration that a certain level of risk may be accepted in order to achieve certain benefits or that trialling some intervention action is required to better understand their impacts. This forward looking, risk based decision making enables the adoption of novel strategies and increased research whilst managing potential impacts. This presentation will focus on the risk and benefit-based approach to the assessment of recent and future reef intervention activities permitted in the Great Barrier Reef. The ultimate outcome for the world’s coral reefs will depend on delivering an integrated program of climate change mitigation, resilience-based Marine Park management, catchment improvements, sustainable fisheries, and innovative intervention techniques that will provide reefs with the best chances going forward.
