Management Philosophy

Four elements underlie the management philosophy of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority:

Management at the ecosystem level to achieve overall protection of the ecosystem
Conservation and reasonable use so that while the ecosystem is protected, opportunities are still provided for sustainable use and enjoyment of the Great Barrier Reef
Public participation and community involvement in the development and implementation of management
Monitoring and performance evaluation of management.

Management at the Ecosystem Level

Marine ecosystems are large. The plants and animals which settle on, or pass by, a coral reef or area of seabed may have been spawned by parents tens or hundreds of kilometres away. In turn, their offspring may migrate or be carried similar distances by tides and currents.

Water may carry food, nutrients, larvae or pollutants as well as being the home environment for many species. Whatever is done to manage part of a marine ecosystem must take into account the influences carried by the water column.

The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Act was among the first in the world to deal comprehensively with the management of a marine ecosystem. The values which led to the passage of the Act were also recognised in 1981 by the inscription of the Great Barrier Reef on the World Heritage List. The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Act provides the framework for managing the Great Barrier Reef as a large ecosystem.

In developing zoning plans to provide the means of strategic management of the Great Barrier Reef, the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority has placed a major emphasis on understanding the linkages between sites and activities within the Great Barrier Reef and between the adjacent mainland.

Conservation and Reasonable Use

The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Act provides for conservation of the Great Barrier Reef and reasonable use of the Great Barrier Reef Region. In doing this it anticipated the global movement towards ecologically sustainable development.

Meeting the conservation requirements of a large and interlinked ecosystem requires management of human use and impacts. This cannot be achieved by focusing solely on some small subsamples restricted under nature reserves or national parks. The management of used areas is an important part of a comprehensive management approach covering the entire context of use and impact.

Four of the five Marine Park sections are covered by zoning plans which provide the strategic framework for management. Each zoning plan provides for protection and sustainable use of the natural ecosystem and thus meets the criteria of a Category 6 ‘Protected Area’ under the IUCN (World Conservation Union) Guidelines for Protected Area Management Categories.

Within the zoning plans there are strictly protected areas which meet the criteria of IUCN Category 1 ‘Preservation or Scientific Research Zones’. There are also national park zones equivalent to IUCN Category 2. Other zones, including habitat protection, general use and buffer zones, provide for a range of conservation measures consistent with sustainable use and addressing the rest of the spectrum of the IUCN Protected Area categories.

The Category 1 and Category 2 Protected Areas provide for strictly protected areas representative of each of the habitat types of the Great Barrier Reef Region. In these categories coral reefs are well represented but the Authority is working to ensure significant representation of all habitat types within the Great Barrier Reef Region.

The distribution of the highly protected Category 1 and 2 zones has been developed with a view to providing the best possible network in regard to water current flows. These protected areas can then serve as sources of recruits to other areas of the Reef which may be used for a range of activities, including fishing and tourism.

While the zoning plans provide largely for spatial separation into zones, seasonal closure and other temporary closure measures provide for temporal separation of activities, particularly where such separation or closure protects animals or plants at sensitive times of their reproductive cycle. In addition to the spatial and temporal management, the zoning plans establish a system for permitting activities that need to be considered on a case-by-case basis to address individual or cumulative impacts.

The strategic framework of the zoning plans is augmented at the tactical level by site and area management plans for particularly sensitive or heavily used areas. Management plans must be consistent with the zoning for the area in question by addressing issues such as recreational and tourist setting, the protection of fragile areas and the placement and management of moorings. They also establish policy in relation to permitting activities.

The broader context of management is addressed by long-range, 25-year strategic planning. In 1993–4, over 60 community and interest groups took part in a process that identified long-term goals and established objectives for the management of the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area.

Public Participation and Community Involvement

The management of use and impacts and the achievement of reasonable sustainable use must involve the people whose use and activities relate to the Reef. There are extensive formal and informal means for achieving community input and involvement in the work of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority.

The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Act provides for Commonwealth, Queensland and community members of the Authority, which is the governing board for the management of the Marine Park. It also provides for a Consultative Committee whose members are nominated by both the Commonwealth and Queensland governments. The Act provides in some detail for public participation in the development of zoning plans and, from the start, the Authority adopted a practice of public participation which has gone well beyond the basic requirements of the legislation.

Although the national and global significance of the Great Barrier Reef is well recognised, management is planned and conducted so that the coastal communities of Queensland and the governments which represent them are essential participants in the management of the Great Barrier Reef ecosystem.

Monitoring and Performance Evaluation of Management

The Authority and its partner agencies operate by establishing and implementing a management regime for the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park and World Heritage Area. This engenders a responsibility to monitor the condition of the managed system and the effectiveness of implementation of the management. The biophysical condition of the Great Barrier Reef Region is addressed by the State of the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Report. The effectiveness of management is addressed through assessment and reporting of Authority programs and the day-to-day management of the Marine Park.