As an integral part of the Great Barrier Reef Biodiversity Conservation Strategy 2012, vulnerability assessments are being undertaken on habitats, species and groups of species identified as being potentially 'at-risk'. These assessments will help inform the strategy's management priorities (Figure 1).

Figure 1. The Biodiversity Conservation Strategy flow diagram

'The Great Barrier Reef Biodiversity Conservation Strategy 2012 assesses habitats, species or groups of species as being potentially 'at-risk' if:

• they were assessed as 'poor' in the Great Barrier Reef Outlook Report 2009
• they were assessed as vulnerable to the impacts of climate change in the Climate Change and the Great Barrier Reef: A vulnerability assessment (2007)
• they were identified as being of high–moderate management concern and of low–moderate information adequacy in the Scientific Information Needs for the Management of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park 2009-2014
• they were identified as a priority marine species in the former Queensland Department of Environment and Resource Management's (DERM) Back-on-track biodiversity action plans
• they are listed as a threatened species under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999: the Nature Conservation Act 1992 or as a protected species under the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Regulations 1983
• they have a stock assessment status of 'overfished' or 'uncertain' in the former Fisheries Queensland's Stock status of Queensland's fisheries resources documents
• they have a 'high-risk' rating in the draft ecological risk assessment of otter trawling in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park
• are in a 'high-risk' category in any future ecological risk assessments
• they are of significant concern to a Great Barrier Reef Marine Park stakeholder group
• they are identified as under threat in a published scientific study.

Potentially 'at-risk' biodiversity is shown in Table 1.

This approach focuses resources on habitats or species identified as a priority for conservation management irrespective of their listing status under conservation legislation. This is a more flexible and adaptive approach, ensuring resources are directed towards those elements of biodiversity that most require intervention and is not reliant on the often lengthy listing process that is an integral part of most conservation legislation.

The development of the vulnerability assessments

The vulnerability assessments are designed as decision-support tools for a broad range of stakeholders. The purpose of these assessments is to:

• identify and document the range of pressures acting on an element of biodiversity using a standardised and transparent process
• document levels of exposure and sensitivity to key threats within the Great Barrier Reef Region and assess the capacity of different species to adapt naturally or through management actions to determine their overall vulnerability to each pressure
• engage with Commonwealth and Queensland government agencies, other stakeholders and the wider community to manage identified at-risk habitats, species and groups of species;
• dentify gaps in management effectiveness, including deficiencies in legislation and policy, and where additional research is needed for making informed decisions
• inform priorities for action in the Biodiversity Conservation Strategy, and
• act as a catalyst for consultation and engagement with other groups and agencies that have either a management responsibility for the element of biodiversity or have influence over the impacts on them.

Before publication, the vulnerability assessments are peer-reviewed by natural resource managers and researchers considered to be authorities on that particular element of biodiversity. 

 

Figure 2. The key components of vulnerability assessments (Adapted from Wachenfeld et al., 2007).

The vulnerability assessments will be reviewed and updated with the best available information to ensure management actions are current for each of the 'potentially at-risk' elements of biodiversity identified within the Biodiversity Conservation Strategy (as per Figure 1). Vulnerability assessments can also be used as a reactive tool when a Great Barrier Reef stakeholder group raises significant concerns about an element of biodiversity and there is a need to document these concerns using a standardised and transparent process. 

Vulnerability assessment Status

Table 1. Overview of the status of each of the vulnerability assessments on elements of biodiversity that the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority has so far identified as being required.

	Vulnerability assessment	Status
Species or groups of species	Bony fish - Threadfin salmon	Complete
	Bony fish - Grey mackerel	Complete
	Bony fish - Snapper	Available soon
	Dugong	Available soon
	Dwarf minke whale	Complete
	Holothurians (sea cucumbers)	Available soon
	Humpback whale	Available soon
	Inshore dolphins - Australian snub-fin and Indo-Pacific humpback	Complete
	Inshore dolphins – Bottlenose	Complete
	Marine turtles	Available soon
	Sawfish	Complete
	Sea snakes	Complete
	Seabirds – Inshore and coastal foraging	Complete
	Seabirds – Offshore and pelagic foraging	Complete
	Shorebirds	Complete
	Sharks and rays	Complete
Habitats	Coral reefs	Available soon
	Islands	Available soon
	Lagoon floor	Available soon
	Estuaries	Available soon
	Open water	Available soon
	Seagrass	Complete