Jane Waterhouse

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.

Adaptive management for water quality planning - from theory to practice

Adaptive management has been promoted as a structured approach to learning in response to the uncertainty associated with managing complex systems. We developed and tested a protocol to guide an adaptive approach to water quality management in north-eastern Australia. The protocol articulates a framework for documenting uncertainties and performance expectations, negotiating feedback and anticipating iterative and transformative responses to future scenarios. A Water Quality Improvement Plan developed for the Tully-Murray catchment in the Great Barrier Reef region was used to test the protocol and three benefits of its use were identified. First, developing rigorous and timely monitoring and evaluation ensures that opportunities for iterative planning are realised. Second, anticipating future endogenous or exogenous changes to the plan enables the early initiation of actions to inform transformative planning responses. Finally, the protocol exposed the need to coordinate multi-scalar responses to tackle environmental knowledge and management uncertainties and assumptions. The protocol seeks to provide a practical translation of adaptive planning theory that will enable the benefits of adaptive management to be realised on the ground.

Great Barrier Reef (Australia): a multi-ecosystem wetland with a multiple use management regime

The Great Barrier Reef (GBR) covers an area of about 350,000 km2 on the northeastern Australian continental shelf. Biological diversity within the GBR is very high and includes coral reefs, large areas of seagrass meadows, many species of turtles, sponge gardens and high species diversity of fish, molluscs, echinoderms, sea snakes and seaweeds. The GBR also has at least 30 species of whales and dolphin and the dugong. The coral reefs of the GBR are in generally poor condition with degradation continuing. Seagrass meadows have declined recently but may recover more easily if acute stressors are removed. Dugong and turtle populations in many parts of the GBR are in very severe decline. The GBR has a well-designed management system based on both regulatory measures and voluntary compliance with planning regimes but the net effect of 40 years of management has seen many habitats and species still in decline. Most of the factors leading to decline can be identified as associated with climate change, terrestrial pollutant runoff and fishing. To prevent the further decline of the GBR more stringent measures need to be implemented to reduce the impacts of terrestrial runoff and fishing as well as better global (and Australian) measures to reduce the severity of climate change.

Management of Agriculture to Preserve Environmental Values of the Great Barrier Reef, Australia

Coral reef and seagrass ecosystems of the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) are in severe decline. Water quality associated with pollutant discharge from the rivers discharging into the GBR is a major issue for these GBR ecosystems and associated species such as dugongs, turtles and fish. The main source of river pollution is agriculture with sugarcane cultivation, beef grazing, grain cropping and horticulture the principal industries. Discharge to the GBR is of poor quality in many rivers, contaminants are present in the GBR lagoon at concentrations likely to cause environmental harm and the causal relationship between poor water quality and declining GBR ecosystem health is well understood. Action to improve management practices to reduce sediment, fertiliser and pesticide losses from farms is being taken and the pollutant loading of river discharge reduced. Improved practices are funded through the combined efforts of Australian Governments (Federal, State and local) and farmers. Whether these improved practices and the pollution reductions achieved are sufficient to improve GBR ecosystem health is not certain in the face of other threats to the GBR such as climate change and large scale coastal development associated with urban and port expansion.

Managing Water Quality for the Great Barrier Reef

Abstract This chapter reviews the management of water quality in the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) over the past 15 years. The GBR is listed as a World Heritage site for its outstanding universal value, meeting all four natural criteria for listing. Yet the status of its iconic species and ecosystems continues to decline due to poor water quality, climate change and extreme weather events. Concerted efforts by the Australian and Queensland governments to improve water quality over the last 15 years have failed to deliver measurable improvements to the health of inshore ecosystems. In this period, four phases of bilateral water-quality planning and programs have developed scientifically robust targets and reporting systems. Programs have largely relied on suasive mechanisms to facilitate the adoption of improved agricultural practices with lower water-quality risks. Yet even 100% adoption of improved practices will not achieve the water-quality targets necessary to support the GBR in the face of growing climate change impacts. Our conclusion is that, despite the strong science and partnerships that support reef policy and programs, greater effort is needed to overcome constraints to current management approaches and to employ the additional policy measures required to help sustain the GBR into the future.