Terrestrial pollutant runoff to the Great Barrier Reef: an update of issues, priorities and management responses

The Great Barrier Reef (GBR) is a World Heritage Area and contains extensive areas of coral reef, seagrass meadows and fisheries resources. From adjacent catchments, numerous rivers discharge pollutants from agricultural, urban, mining and industrial activity. Pollutant sources have been identified and include suspended sediment from erosion in cattle grazing areas; nitrate from fertiliser application on crop lands; and herbicides from various land uses. The fate and effects of these pollutants in the receiving marine environment are relatively well understood. The Australian and Queensland Governments responded to the concerns of pollution of the GBR from catchment runoff with a plan to address this issue in 2003 (Reef Plan; updated 2009), incentive-based voluntary management initiatives in 2007 (Reef Rescue) and a State regulatory approach in 2009, the Reef Protection Package. This paper reviews new research relevant to the catchment to GBR continuum and evaluates the appropriateness of current management responses

A Scenario Analysis of Climate Change and Ecosystem Services for the Great Barrier

The extent to which nations and regions can actively shape the future or must passively respond to global forces is a topic of relevance to current discourses on climate change, ecosystems services, and human well-being. In Australia, climate change has been identified as the greatest threat to the ecological resilience of the Great Barrier Reef and the multiple ecosystem services it provides, but is exacerbated by regional and local pressures. In this chapter, we discuss previous applications of scenario analysis and describe a case study we undertook to explore how two key uncertainties may influence these threats and their impact on the Great Barrier Reef and adjacent catchment�s ecosystem services in the future. These two uncertainties were whether (1) global development and (2) Australian development are defined and pursued primarily in terms of economic growth or broader concepts of human well-being and environmental sustainability, and, in turn, how climate change is managed and mitigated. We compared the implications of four scenarios for marine and terrestrial ecosystem services and human well-being. The results suggest that while regional actions can partially offset global inaction on climate change until about mid-century, there are probable threshold levels for marine ecosystems, beyond which the Great Barrier Reef will become a fundamentally different system by 2100 if climate change is not curtailed. Management that can respond to pressures at both global and regional scales will be needed to maintain the full range of ecosystem services. It is possible to maintain human well-being even while some ecosystem services decline, but only if regional management is strong. The future of the region depends largely on whether national and regional decision makers choose to be active future �makers� or passive future �takers� in responding to global drivers of change. The chapter concludes by discussing potential avenues for using these scenarios for further discussion and consensus building with the Great Barrier Reef region�s stakeholders

Supporting Regional Natural Resource Management (NRM) organisations to update their NRM plans for adaptation to climate change

Our paper presents an innovative co-research approach to addressing the challenges faced by Australian NRM organisations in managing the impacts of climate change on natural resources. The project involves four regional NRM organisations and researchers from two major research institutions. The four NRM organisations in the 'Wet Tropics Cluster' (WTC) are: (i) Reef Catchments NRM, (ii) Terrain NRM, (iii) Cape York NRM, and (iv) Torres Strait Regional Authority. They cover the major part of the far northeastern coastal region of Queensland, Australia. This region is recognised globally for its outstanding natural values and NRM organisations are responsible for meeting international obligations to manage and maintain the high biodiversity values as well as balancing a wide range of social, economic, cultural and environmental needs. In the face of a changing climate, NRM organisations are required to also incorporate planning strategies that are aimed at mitigating and adapting to the impacts of climate change. This project is aimed at supporting NRM organisations in their planning, first by establishing a 'Brokering Hub' for the WTC, which brings together researchers and NRM organisations to guide the work of the WTC and facilitate the development and communication of new knowledge and tools. The research component of the Brokering Hub is divided into three 'Science Nodes', one of which is the 'Participatory Scenarios and Knowledge Integration Node. (Figure 1). Our initial work in this Node has focused on the identification of focal issues and key drivers of change in the four NRM regions through a participatory process with members of the Brokering Hub. The results from this process have highlighted similarities and key differences between regions, indicating the specific scientific information needs required by each NRM organisation to develop potential climate adaption responses. In order to address the issues and information needs of NRM organisations, new knowledge and tools will be generated by the Science Nodes in collaboration with the NRM organisations. Our innovative co-research approach equips the regions well for this task

Supporting Regional Natural Resource Management (NRM) organisations to update their NRM plans for adaptation to climate change

Our paper presents an innovative co-research approach to addressing the challenges faced by Australian NRM organisations in managing the impacts of climate change on natural resources. The project involves four regional NRM organisations and researchers from two major research institutions. The four NRM organisations in the 'Wet Tropics Cluster' (WTC) are: (i) Reef Catchments NRM, (ii) Terrain NRM, (iii) Cape York NRM, and (iv) Torres Strait Regional Authority. They cover the major part of the far northeastern coastal region of Queensland, Australia. This region is recognised globally for its outstanding natural values and NRM organisations are responsible for meeting international obligations to manage and maintain the high biodiversity values as well as balancing a wide range of social, economic, cultural and environmental needs. In the face of a changing climate, NRM organisations are required to also incorporate planning strategies that are aimed at mitigating and adapting to the impacts of climate change. This project is aimed at supporting NRM organisations in their planning, first by establishing a 'Brokering Hub' for the WTC, which brings together researchers and NRM organisations to guide the work of the WTC and facilitate the development and communication of new knowledge and tools. The research component of the Brokering Hub is divided into three 'Science Nodes', one of which is the 'Participatory Scenarios and Knowledge Integration Node. (Figure 1). Our initial work in this Node has focused on the identification of focal issues and key drivers of change in the four NRM regions through a participatory process with members of the Brokering Hub. The results from this process have highlighted similarities and key differences between regions, indicating the specific scientific information needs required by each NRM organisation to develop potential climate adaption responses. In order to address the issues and information needs of NRM organisations, new knowledge and tools will be generated by the Science Nodes in collaboration with the NRM organisations. Our innovative co-research approach equips the regions well for this task