eNewsletter Article

Dr. Cathy Dichmont (CSIRO)

Shaping the future of the Great Barrier Reef is no easy task. The Reef catchment area covers almost 350,000 square kilometres. The region contributes $7 billion to the Australian economy annually, primarily through tourism, however farming, fishing and the research sectors are also important.

Future management decisions regarding the Reef need to strike the right balance between economic growth, environmental protection and community wellbeing. 

Dr. Ken Anthony, Dr. Nicholas Wolff, Prof. Peter Mumby, Dr. Eve McDonald-Madden and Dr. Michelle Devlin

Conservation planning is an important pathway from environmental data to achievable conservation outcomes. But what happens when limited published data or grey literature data exists? This is the challenge facing the team from Project 9.3 ‘Prioritizing Management Actions on Great Barrier Reef Islands’.

Tropical Ecosystem Hub research in the Wet Tropics rainforests will greatly assist the management of the unique outstanding values of this World Heritage listed area in Far North Queensland. Getting research findings to key researcher users in a synthesized and clearly applicable form is critical to realizing the assistance. The Wet Tropics Management Authority (WTMA) is on the front foot to ensure that this occurs.

Tropical Ecosystems Hub researchers from the Great Barrier Reef water quality program came together recently with managers and people from industry who are working specifically on pesticide (including herbicide) research, monitoring and management in the Great Barrier Reef for the third meeting of the Pesticides Working Group.

Near shore coral reefs are at the intersection of multiple environmental changes. Some of the changes are driven by human activities at a local scale, while others are driven by human activities at a global scale. Understanding how the local changes modify the impact of the global changes will help guide management designed to mitigate their impacts, and restore coastal ecosystems.

Understanding the status and trends of the human dimensions within communities of the Great Barrier Reef and adjacent catchments enables better integration into planning and management. Afterall, more than 940,000 people live, work and play in Great Barrier Reef coastal areas, islands, and waters; and the Reef provides employment for about 69,000 people.

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