Caring for coasts and islands
These cradles of biological diversity are crucial to Reef health.


#The challenge
The Great Barrier Reef stretches 2,300km along Queensland’s coast, with more than 1,000 islands scattered across an area the size of Italy. The coastlines and islands combine with 3,000 coral reefs to form a rich tapestry of critical habitats that are home to thousands of species of marine life.
Monitoring and support of these habitats is a huge task. As they face the intensifying impacts of climate change, the challenge to protect and restore these refuges is growing. We’re working to identify the highest-priority habitats along the Reef and pioneering new conservation models to safeguard key ecosystems. In partnership with Traditional Owners and local communities, we’re restoring vitally important blue carbon ecosystems like seagrass meadows, mangroves and tidal marshes, which absorb and store vast amounts of carbon at a significantly higher rate than forests on land and help fight the impacts of climate change. We're also restoring tidal flows to former wetlands along our vast coastline, half of which have been destroyed over the last two hundred years through construction, pollution and agricultural activity.
#Our solutions
Creating wildlife sanctuaries and blue carbon powerhouses

Blue carbon

Seagrass nurseries

Restoring coastal wetlands

Monitoring mangroves

#Project gallery

Planting pisonia trees to revegetate Lady Elliot Island.

Mangroves are a crucial carbon sink. Credit: Gary Cranitch, Queensland Museum

Seagrass meadows are critical fish habitats.

Measuring mangrove growth on Magnetic Island. Credit: Emma Muench

Collecting water samples from wetlands.
