Managing for a resilient reef

Managing for a resilient Reef © GBRMPA

The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority is responsible for ensuring the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park — one of the world's greatest natural treasures — is protected for the future.

For 40 years we've managed this biologically diverse icon and multiple-use area, using the best available scientific information and input from marine managers, researchers, experts and Traditional Owners.

Reef blueprint

The Reef blueprint for resilience is the primary output of the Reef Summit held in May 2017. The blueprint signals the actions we will take with our partners, to strengthen the Reef’s resilience — it's capacity to recover after disturbances and return to a healthy state — to the challenges it’s facing now and in the future.

Our strong message is: together we can secure the future of the Reef – we have to try harder, do more and act now.

The blueprint is designed around 10 key initiatives focused on delivering maximum benefits for Reef resilience.

Building on existing management arrangements — such as crown-of-thorns starfish control and fishing compliance — to protect the Great Barrier Reef, this Blueprint outlines additional actions and innovative approaches the Authority will pursue with its partners to better support and protect coral reefs in the face of a changing climate. Its explicit focus on coral reefs reflects both their critical state, and the fact that coral reefs are the cornerstones of the Reef’s broader ecological, social, economic, cultural and heritage values.

The 10 initiatives fall into four broad areas:

fostering change.

By focusing our efforts on building the resilience of coral reefs, we will give the entire Great Barrier Reef ecosystem its best chance of coping with the challenges ahead.

Reef Summit

On 24 and 25 May 2017, over 70 regional, national and international delegates representing marine park managers, Traditional Owners, government agencies, research institutions, industry groups, Reef users and other stakeholders participated in Great Barrier Reef Summit – Managing for Resilience.

It was clear from the event there is a strong and shared commitment to work together—to develop a blueprint for change, to implement actions, and communicate the challenges facing the Reef.