To submit an abstract for consideration, please email the abstract to Claudia Baldwin and Angela Dean by 31 January 2023.
Australia’s Great Barrier Reef is the largest coral reef-based Marine Park in the world, a World Heritage Area, and the subject of active research and management interest for over forty years. However this iconic ecosystem remains under threat, exacerbated by climate change impacts.
Increased temperatures have caused mass coral bleaching globally over the past five years, including Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. The IPCC (2019) predicts that coral reefs are projected to decline by a further 70–90% if global temperatures reach an additional 1.5°C (high confidence) with larger losses (>99%) at 2°C (very high confidence). Australia is currently experiencing increasing weather extremes indicative of the effects of climate change. Along with environmental impacts, coastal communities and industries such as tourism and fisheries have already experienced major socio-economic impacts.
As climate and other stressors interact, the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA) and other bodies are doing what is in their ability to reduce stress on the reef environment (such as from land-based discharge). GBRMPA has recognised the continuing connection to land and sea country of the GBR by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples through partnerships and custodianship in protecting the Reef for future generations. Efforts are being made to understand how to build social-ecological resilience.
To better understand how to translate knowledge into management action, we are planning a special issue about the GBR in the Australasian Journal of Environmental Management (AJEM), the Environment Institute of Australia journal. We welcome initial submissions of abstracts on new perspectives, recognising good policy, practice and innovation in marine science and management, as well as social dimensions related to the GBR.
Suggested topics include, but are not limited to:
- Co-management, role of Indigenous peoples and cultural heritage
- Managing the implications of climate change (e.g. global warming and ocean acidification) for the GBR environment, associated industries, and communities
- Socio-economic consequences and implications for tourism, fisheries, food security and health
- Best practice governance and stewardship: planning for uncertainty, engaging for resilience, adaptive capacity, connecting and collaborating, and navigating change
- Social-ecological systems approach to management protection – interconnected GBR and people
