The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA) has prepared its first Outlook Report. The Great Barrier Reef Outlook Report 2009 (the Outlook Report 2009) was provided to the then Minister for the Environment, Heritage and the Arts on 30 June 2009 and subsequently tabled in the Australian Parliament.

The Outlook Report 2009 was a key recommendation of the Review of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Act 1975 (2006). The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Act 1975 sets out the assessments that the Outlook Report must contain plus peer-review and tabling requirements. An Outlook Report must be prepared every five years.

The Outlook Report is an important stock take of the Great Barrier Reef, its management and its future. The primary aim of the Outlook Report is to provide a regular and reliable report on the management of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, the overall condition of the ecosystem of the Great Barrier Reef Region (including the ecosystem outside the Region where it affects the Region), social and economic factors, as well as a risk-based assessment of the longer-term outlook for the Region.

Regular reporting through the Outlook Report is crucial in the ongoing monitoring of the Great Barrier Reef and its management. It is a summary of the past and present condition of the environmental, economic and social values of the Great Barrier Reef and presents its possible future.

This first Outlook Report highlights that the Great Barrier Reef is one of the most diverse and remarkable ecosystems in the world and remains one of the most healthy coral reef ecosystems. Climate change, continued declining water quality from catchment run-off, loss of coastal habitats from coastal development and a small number of impacts from fishing are identified as the priority issues reducing the resilience the Great Barrier Reef.

The Outlook Report 2009 has been prepared by the GBRMPA based on the best available information. Many people with an interest in the Great Barrier Reef have contributed throughout development of the Outlook Report, including a number of Australian and Queensland Government agencies, leading Great Barrier Reef scientists, researchers, industry representatives, advisory committees, members of regional communities and the public. The Outlook Report 2009 was independently peer reviewed.