The Bommies Award

Winning Concept 2009

Concept Title: Conservation objectives to minimise the impacts of climate change on the Great Barrier Reef

Project leaders:            Dr Natalie Ban, Postdoctoral Fellow, James Cook University
Dr Eddie Game, The Nature Conservancy

Summary:

Ecological systems are naturally dynamic, but a rapidly changing climate is driving ever faster ecological changes. This project proposes to improve conservation in the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) region by exploring and defining conservation objectives that reflect the true temporal and spatial dynamics of the GBR. Conservation objectives articulate specific priorities for protection and restoration of biodiversity. Clear conservation objectives are a prerequisite for good conservation planning and decision making for a healthy GBR.

Marine protected areas, especially no-take zones that exclude extractive activities, are one of the most widely embraced and effective conservation tools for biodiversity. Past conservation plans, including the impressive re-zoning effort in the GBR that designated extensive new no-take zones, have principally focused on representing patterns of biodiversity (e.g., maps of marine habitats) as though they are static through time. Marine systems, however, are highly dynamic. For example, areas of high and low temperature move around, and bleaching affects some areas more than others. Collectively, these processes are known as patch dynamics.

In the GBR, patch dynamics that influence the health of the system include primary productivity, coral bleaching, crown-of-thorns outbreaks, sea surface temperature, cyclones, and oceanographic fronts. Despite the important role these dynamics play in sustaining a functioning and bio-diverse GBR system, limitations in both conservation planning approaches and knowledge of these dynamics meant they were not included in rezoning of the GBR.

Climate driven changes in these patch dynamics are some of the most visible and potentially catastrophic marks of climate change on the reef. A frequently cited example is the increased frequency and severity of bleaching with higher sea surface temperatures. Adequately incorporating these changing patch dynamics into conservation planning is critical to protecting the GBR’s biodiversity into the future. 

Conservation planning aims to identify efficient priorities so that limited resources can be used most effectively towards promoting the persistence of biodiversity.  Specific and quantifiable conservation objectives are needed in order to evaluate decisions that arise as part of prioritising areas for no-take and other zones in the GBR.

The goal of this project is to develop conservation objectives for patch dynamics that are affected by climate change so that future rezonings of the GBR are even more effective than the previous one in protecting one of Australia’s greatest natural assets.