Skip to main content Skip to main navigation Skip to search

Queensland and NSW floods 2022

Visit recovery.gov.au to see what help is available.

Close
Home

Top navigation main

  • News & media
  • Jobs
  • Ministers
  • Contact us
Main menu

AWE Main

  • Climate change
    Climate change Driving climate action, science and innovation so we are ready for the future.
    • Climate science and adaptation
    • Australia's climate change strategies
    • Emissions reduction
    • Emissions reporting
    • International commitments
    • Climate Active
    • Climate change publications and data
    • Australia’s National Greenhouse Accounts (Emissions Data)
    Stronger action on climate change

    Stronger action on climate change

    See how the Australian Government is committed to taking more ambitious action on climate change.

    Find out more

  • Energy
    Energy Building a secure and sustainable energy system for all Australians.
    • Energy policy in Australia
    • Energy ministers
    • Renewable energy
    • Energy publications
    • energy.gov.au
    • Energy Rating
    • Commercial Building Disclosure Program
    • Nationwide House Energy Rating Scheme (NatHERS)
    • Your Home
    Decorative image

    Australian Energy Employment Report survey

    Share insights to help the energy workforce plan for the future

    Find out more

  • Environment
    Environment Improving stewardship and sustainable management of Australia’s environment.
    • Bushfire recovery
    • Climate change and the environment
    • Biodiversity
    • EPBC Act
    • Environmental information and data
    • International activities
    • Invasive species
    • Land
    • Marine
    • Partnerships
    • Protection
    • Report a breach of environment law
    • Threatened species & ecological communities
    • Waste and recycling
    • Wildlife trade
    Decorative image

    Read our Nature Positive Plan

    Our plan sets out the Australian Government’s commitment to environmental law reform

    Find out more

  • Water
    Water Improving the sustainable management of Australia’s water supply for industry, the environment and communities.
    • Coal, Coal seam gas (CSG) and water
    • Commonwealth Environmental Water Office
    • Water policy and resources
    • Wetlands
    Water matters

    Water Matters

    Keep up with the latest news on the department's work in managing Australia's water resources.

    Read the latest edition here

  • Parks and heritage
    Parks and heritage Managing Australia’s iconic national parks, historic places and living landscapes.
    • Australian Marine Parks
    • Australian National Botanic Gardens
    • Booderee National Park
    • Kakadu National Park
    • Christmas Island National Park
    • National parks
    • Norfolk Island National Park
    • Heritage
    • Pulu Keeling National Park
    • The Great Barrier Reef
    • Uluṟu-Kata Tjuṯa National Park
    The reef

    Great Barrier Reef

    Australia is protecting and conserving this World Heritage Area.

    Find out more

  • Science and research
    Science and research Undertaking research and collecting data to support informed decisions and policies.
    • Climate change
    • Australia's biological resources
    • National Environmental Science Program (NESP)
    • Our science strategy
    • Australian Biological Resource Study (ABRS)
    • State of the Environment (SoE) reporting
    • Bird and bat banding
    • Supervising Scientist
    Our climate is changing

    Our climate is changing

    Find out more about how climate science helps Australians with the impacts of climate change.

    Find out more

  • About us
    About us We lead Australia’s response to climate change and sustainable energy use, and protect our environment, heritage and water.
    • Accountability and reporting
    • Assistance, grants and tenders
    • Fees and charges
    • News and media
    • Our commitment to you
    • People and jobs
    • Publications
    • What we do
    • Who we are
    Decorative image

    Juukan Gorge response

    Read the Australian Government's response to the destruction at Juukan Gorge and the recommendations

    Read the response

  • Online services
    Online services We do business with you using online platforms. This makes it easier for you to meet your legal requirements.
Department of Climate Change, Energy, Enviroment and Water

Breadcrumb

  1. Home
  2. Parks and heritage
  3. The Great Barrier Reef
  4. Great Barrier Reef - Publications and resources
  5. Community groups helping protect the Great Barrier Reef

Sidebar first - EN - Great barrier reef

  • Great Barrier Reef
    • Protecting the Reef
      • Our investments
        • Improving water quality
        • Restoration and adaptation
        • Partnerships and stewardship
        • The Reef Trust
          • Reef Trust Projects
          • Partnership with GBR Foundation
          • Reef Trust Tools and Resources
          • Monitoring, reporting and evaluation
      • Reef 2050 Plan
        • Developing the plan
        • Progress Reports
        • Advisory bodies
        • Science and the Great Barrier Reef
      • Case studies
    • World heritage
      • Comprehensive strategic assessment
    • Governance and partners
      • Our partners
        • Traditional Owners
      • Intergovernmental Agreement and Ministerial Forum
      • GBRMPA Governance Review
        • Consultation
    • Publications and resources

Community groups helping protect the Great Barrier Reef

2022
Australian Government and Queensland Government
Download
Community groups helping protect the Great Barrier Reef (PDF 700.8KB)
GBR banner image

What does the Reef 2050 Plan mean for community groups?

Community groups are key to delivering the Reef 2050 Plan, taking practical action, and educating others to support a healthy Reef. The updated Reef 2050 Plan includes strategic actions and goals that guide the work that needs to be done. Community groups contribute under the Plan in many ways. For example:

  • Limiting the impact of climate change – delivering education and practical initiatives to help communities and sectors reduce their emissions and adapt to climate change.
  • Reducing the impact from land-based activities – undertaking revegetation, erosion control and pest and weed management activities to improve water quality entering the Reef.
  • Reducing the impact of water-based activities – undertaking stewardship actions such as marine debris clean ups and educational initiatives to promote sustainable recreational fishing practices.
  • Protecting and restoring the Reef – volunteering for environmental projects to protect sensitive shoreline ecosystems and cultural sites.
  • Collaboration and partnership – using local networks to promote and encourage understanding of the Reef and how people can help build its resilience.
  • Science and monitoring – conducting local environmental monitoring and contributing to citizen science.

Community action planning empowers community networks to protect the Reef

The Community Action Plan (CAP) Program is a pilot aiming to improve the engagement of the broader community in the protection of the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area. The CAPs use a collaborative planning approach to connect community aspirations with regional and reef-wide priorities by establishing shared goals for community Reef protection, designing better ways to work together, identifying critical projects, and measuring and celebrating community outcomes.

In 2020-2021, community partners, Traditional Owners, scientists and Reef managers from Cape York to Burnett Mary were engaged to create a Community Action Plan for their areas. Six CAPs have been developed focusing on citizen science programs and on-ground activities in coastal, estuarine and marine areas. The program network is now working to translate plans into action with the implementation of projects ranging from local climate action to habitat rehabilitation and protecting cultural values.

For example, the Magnetic Island Community Development Association (MICDA) led the development of the Magnetic Island Reef Community Action Plan. This local scale CAP builds the leadership capacity of Magnetic Island residents through the collaborative design and implementation of a range of accelerated, targeted actions to reduce local and climatic impacts on the Reef.

Meanwhile the Cape York Natural Resource Management led the development of the Cape York Reef Community Action Plan in partnership with South Cape York Catchments. Engagements focused in the Bloomfield, Cooktown and Hopevale regions provided an opportunity to combine the voices of Traditional Owners, community members and youth, and brought together different views on actions to promote Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area resilience.

The CAP Program is funded by the partnership between the Australian Government’s Reef Trust and the Great Barrier Reef Foundation with Community Action Plan Leaders, Cape York NRM, Dry Tropics Partnership for Healthy Waters, Reef Ecologic, Magnetic Island Community Development Association, Reef Catchments, and Burnett Catchment Care Association.

Cleaning up Reef beaches and waterways

ReefClean, a marine debris program coordinated by the Tangaroa Blue Foundation, involves community volunteers cleaning up targeted beaches and waterways within Reef catchments and the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park. As of 30 September 2021, the ReefClean project had delivered 689 events with 6,472 volunteers removing over 62.4 tonnes of debris from beaches and waterways.

One of the main events is the annual Great Barrier Reef Clean-up, with community events ranging from multi-day clean-ups in the Torres Strait and the remote shores of Hinchinbrook Island, to day-long events targeting local beaches across Queensland’s eastern coast.

Data generated by community efforts can be used to calculate and estimate different aspects of marine debris including abundance, prevalence of different items and possible sources. This data is used to inform source reduction planning at a local level and enable the monitoring of government policies and initiatives at regional and higher levels.

ReefClean is funded by the Australian Government’s Reef Trust. Tangaroa Blue Foundation has partnered with several organisations to achieve success: Reef Check Australia, Capricornia Catchments, Eco Barge Clean Seas, OceanWatch Australia, South Cape York Catchments, AUSMAP, and Think Spatial.

What’s next?

The Australian and Queensland governments will continue to work collaboratively with Reef 2050 Plan partners to implement the updated Reef 2050 Plan.

Through an increasing focus on partnerships and innovative financing, there are opportunities to boost and diversify investment for Reef protection and management.

There are eight priority areas for investment under the Reef 2050 Plan:

Investment priorities

Infographic shows the following investment priorities: Water quality improvement, modern marine park management, crown-of-thorns starfish control, integrated monitoring and reporting, climate change, Traditional Owner priorities, sustainable fisheries, restoration and adaptation

Governments, industry, land managers, scientists, Traditional Owners and the community all have a role to play in helping to protect and sustain the Reef.

Get on board

Protecting and caring for the Reef is a collective effort. Dive into the Reef 2050 Plan to learn more about how we are working together to help support the Great Barrier Reef.

What is the Reef 2050 Plan?

The Reef 2050 Long-Term Sustainability Plan (Reef 2050 Plan) is Australia’s overarching long-term strategy for protecting and managing the Great Barrier Reef to support its health and resilience.

The Plan guides governments, key sectors, and individuals on actions they can take to improve the Reef’s future.

Vision - The Great Barrier Reef is sustained as a living natural and cultural wonder of the world

Developed by the Australian and Queensland governments in 2015 in collaboration with partners, the Plan was updated in late 2021. Access the Plan: Reef 2050 Long-Term Sustainability Plan.

The Australian and Queensland governments and Reef 2050 partners are investing substantially to deliver actions in the Plan, with the governments providing $4 billion from 2014 to 2030, including more than $1.68 billion to improve Reef water quality.

Thanks for your feedback.
Thanks! Your feedback has been submitted.

We aren't able to respond to your individual comments or questions.
To contact us directly phone us or submit an online inquiry

CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.

Please verify that you are not a robot.

Skip

Footer

  • Contact us
  • Accessibility
  • Disclaimer
  • Privacy
  • FOI
Last updated: 02 September 2022

© Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water

We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of country throughout Australia and recognise their continuing connection to land, waters and culture. We pay our respects to their Elders past, present and emerging.