A fundamental principle of RRAP is to work closely with Great Barrier Reef Traditional Owners, and engage different stakeholders, community groups and interests in the co-design, deployment and evaluation of proposed interventions or technologies.
The aim of the RRAP Stakeholder and Traditional Owner Engagement Subprogram is to work across the whole R&D program to deliver best-practice engagement that meets program, community, Great Barrier Reef Traditional Owner and stakeholder needs. This is so that decisions about interventions are socially and culturally responsible and legitimate to stakeholders, rights-holders, managers and the public.
Coral monitoring on Erub Island. Photo: Tristan Simpson.
The Stakeholder and Traditional Owner Engagement Subprogram will work closely with the regulatory, program management, and intervention subprograms to inform planning and prioritisation that meets community and Traditional Owner expectations.
These projects aim to facilitate knowledge transfer for use within RRAP by:
This includes:
Design and evaluate best-practice, place-based, engagement opportunities for Reef communities and the public to inform and consult on program progress, decision-making and partnering opportunities; improve the observability of field testing and laboratory trials for interventions; and provide opportunities for public deliberation on intervention risks, benefits and scenarios.
This project will facilitate and coordinate engagement of stakeholders, Reef Traditional Owners and communities in co-designing the RRAP Stakeholder and Traditional Owner Engagement Subprogram. It includes establishing a stakeholder reference group to inform the RRAP Steering Committee and the design, leadership and delivery of a monitoring, evaluation and learning strategy.
Vella, K., Baresi, U., Lockie, S., & Taylor, B. (2021). Challenges and opportunities for assisted regional ecosystem adaptation: International experience and implications for adaptation research. PLOS ONE, 16(9), Article e0257868. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0257868
Curnock, M. I., Arya, R., Chamberland, E., Chartrand, K., Edmondson, J., Fisher, E. E., Forster, R., Lockie, S., Loder, J., Nembhard, D., & Scott, A. (2024). Reef visitors’ observation of assisted coral recovery devices in situ reduces concern about their use. PLOS ONE, 19(11), e0313345. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0313345
Lockie, S., Graham, V., Taylor, B., Baresi, U., Maclean, K., Paxton, G., & Vella, K. (2024). Conceptualizing social risk in relation to climate change and assisted ecosystem adaptation. Risk Analysis. https://doi.org/10.1111/risa.17635
Lockie, S., Bartelet, H. A., Ritchie, B. W., Demeter, C., Taylor, B., & Sie, L. (2024). Australians support multi-pronged action to build ecosystem resilience in the Great Barrier Reef. Biological Conservation, 299, 110789. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2024.110789
Kong, T. M., Taylor, B., & Graham, V. (2024). Why partner? Harnessing value from collaborative sustainable business models to restore coral reefs at scale. PLOS ONE, 19(12), e0315094. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0315094
Paxton, G., Lockie, S., & Backhaus, V. (2024). Articulating futures: Community storylines and assisted ecosystem adaptation in the Great Barrier Reef. Environmental Science & Policy, 162, 103944. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2024.103944
Baresi, U., Baum, C. M., Fischer, T. B., Lockie, S., Piggott-McKellar, A., Graham, V., & Ristovski, Z. (2024). A call for strategic assessments of regional applications of solar radiation management: Exploring the challenges and opportunities from marine cloud brightening and albedo surface modification. Environmental Impact Assessment Review, 110, 107701. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eiar.2024.107701
Baresi, U., Eberhard, R., Vella, K., Gooch, M., Piggott-McKellar, A., Luna Calibeo, D., Lockie, S., Taylor, B., Bohensky, E., Brooksbank, L., Curnock, M., Graham, V., Kong, T., Lyons, I., Maclean, K., Paxton, G., Schmitt, K., Siehoyono Sie, L., & Stone-Jovicich, S. (2025). Community engagement for novel ecosystem restoration and assisted adaptation interventions: Observations and lessons from the Australian Reef Restoration and Adaptation Program. Society & Natural Resources, 38(6), 626–645. https://doi.org/10.1080/08941920.2025.2463088
Bartelet, H. A., Lockie, S., Ritchie, B. W., Demeter, C., Sie, L., & Taylor, B. (2025). Public support for novel interventions to protect, restore, and accelerate adaptation to climate change in the Great Barrier Reef. Ocean and Coastal Management, 260, Article 107489. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2024.107489
Lockie, S., Paxton, G., Bartelet, H., Draaisma, L. R., & Brooksbank, J. (2025). Imagining outcomes of coral restoration and adaptation intervention in the Great Barrier Reef. Restoration Ecology, 33(8), e70173. https://doi.org/10.1111/rec.70173
Majumdar, A., Eberhard, R., Vella, K., Smith, A., Donnelly, R., Foster, D., Erhart, D., Meldrum, T., Iovanella, P., Brodhurst, O., Tarte, D., & Kimberley, D. (2025). Power to the People, Power to the Reef: Harnessing Community Capital to Scale Adaption Delivery in the Great Barrier Reef. Sustainability, 17(18), 8116. https://doi.org/10.3390/su17188116
Paxton, G., Lockie, S., Dadpour, R., Bartelet, H. A., & Taylor, B. (2025). Ecological Outcomes and Societal Transformation: Multiple Visions for Adaptation in the Great Barrier Reef. Sustainability, 17(21), 9906. https://doi.org/10.3390/su17219906
Demeter, C., Bartelet, H. A., Lockie, S., Ritchie, B. W., & Dadpour, R. (2025). How do the Australian public perceive the risks and benefits of novel restoration and adaptation interventions on coral reefs? Journal of Cleaner Production, 533, Article 147041. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2025.147041
Dadpour, R., Lockie, S., Paxton, G. et al. How do members of the public feel about novel ecosystem interventions? A longitudinal study of emotional responses to restoration and adaptation in the Great Barrier Reef. Ambio (2026). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13280-025-02329-z
Piggott-McKellar, A., Eberhard, R., Pearson, J., Vella, K., & Baresi, U. (2026). How diversity shapes deliberation: Trade-offs in process and outcomes in an Advisory Group on the Great Barrier Reef. Climate Risk Management, 52, 100807. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.crm.2026.100807
Taylor B, Hussey K, Fidelman P, Vella K, Maclean K, Newlands M, Ritchie B, Lockie S, Lacey J, McGrath C, Baresi U, Barber M, Koopman D (2019) Reef Restoration and Adaptation Program: Engagment and Regulatory Dimensions. A report provided to the Australian Government by the Reef Restoration and Adaptation Program (23pp)
Taylor B, Vella K, Maclean K, Newlands M, Ritchie B, Lockie S, Lacey J, Baresi U, Barber M, Siehoyono Sie L, Martin M, Marshall N, Koopman D (2019) Reef Restoration and Adaptation Program: Stakeholder, Traditional Owner and Community Engagement Assessment. A report provided to the
Australian Government by the Reef Restoration and Adaptation Program (95 pp)
Sie, L., Ritchie, B. W., & Lockie, S. (2022). Australian attitudes toward the protection and restoration of the Great Barrier Reef: Summary findings. Reef Restoration and Adaptation Program.
Williams, Liana; Stone-Jovicich, Samantha; Bohensky, Erin. Reef Restoration and Adaptation Program (RRAP) Best Practice Engagement – Participatory Community Panels. Townsville: CSIRO; 2021. csiro:EP2021-3271. https://doi.org/10.25919/xwk9-5c81
Shumway, N., Foster, R., Head, B. and Fidelman, P. (2024). Governance Principles for Novel Reef Interventions. Reef Restoration and Adaptation Program. (33 pp).
Taylor, B.M., Bohensky, E., Curnock, M., Kong, T., Stone-Jovicich, S., Vella, K. Lockie, S. and Loder, J. (2024) Reef Restoration and Adaptation Program – Synthesis of best-practice engagement activities in RRAP Phase 1: objectives, findings and future directions.
Fidelman, P., McGrath, C., Newlands, M., & Dobbs, K. (2019). Regulatory implications of coral reef restoration and adaptation under a changing climate. Environmental Science & Policy, 100, 221–229. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2019.04.016
Shumway, N., Foster, R., Head, B., & Fidelman, P. (2023). Policy solutions needed for the future of coral reefs. BioScience, 73(11), 778–780. https://doi.org/10.1093/biosci/biad092
Shumway, N., Foster, R., & Fidelman, P. (2025). The governance of marine and coral reef restoration: Lessons and paths forward for novel interventions. Environmental Science & Policy, 164, 103999. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2025.103999
Foster, R., Shumway, N., Harrison, D., & Fidelman, P. (2025). Governing marine cloud brightening for ecosystem conservation under a warming climate. Earth System Governance, 17, 100235. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.esg.2024.100235
Lockie, S., Taylor, B., Vella, K., Baresi, U., Bartelet, H., Bohensky, E., Curnock, M., Dadpour, R., Demeter, C., Eberhard, R., Graham, V., Gooch, M., Kong, T., Lyons, P., Paxton, G., Piggott-McKellar, A., Maclean, K., Moran, C., Ritchie, B., Schmitt, K., Stone-Jovicich, S., Majumdar, A., Hu, J. (2025) Reef Restoration and Adaptation Program – Stakeholder and Traditional Owner Engagement (ENG-01) Final Report. (21pp).
| Title | Conference/Workshop/Media outlet | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Navigating large-scale reef restoration & adaptation: What role for participation? | Connectivity, Flow and Change, Social Perspectives on the Great Barrier Reef, Townsville, Australia | 2021 |
| A new approach to exploring the impacts of large-scale reef restoration and adaptation | World Congress of Rural Sociology, Cairns, Australia | 2022 |
| Applied social science and RRAP | Social Science Community for the Reef Symposium, Brisbane, Australia | 2022 |
| Assessing the impacts of large-scale reef adaptation with high level uncertainty around what, where and when. | World Congress of Rural Sociology, Cairns, Australia | 2022 |
| Assessing the impacts of large-scale reef restoration and adaptation with high level uncertainty | Sustainability Research & Innovation Congress, South Africa | 2022 |
| Australian attitudes toward the protection and restoration of the Great Barrier Reef – National survey | Sustainability Research & Innovation Congress, South Africa | 2022 |
| Building adaptive capacity of the GBR | National Adaptation Forum. 2030 and Beyond: Adaptation for our Future | 2022 |
| Building deliberation into governance frameworks for reef restoration and adaptation on the Great Barrier Reef | Sustainability Research & Innovation Congress, South Africa | 2022 |
| Cultivating coral futures: Reconfiguring the Great Barrier Reef as an agri-environmental assemblage through adaptation | World Congress of Rural Sociology, Cairns, Australia | 2022 |
| Exploring the human dimensions of assisted adaptation and restoration of coral reefs | Sustainability Research & Innovation Congress, Oceania Satellite Event, Brisbane, Australia | 2022 |
| Listening to Great Barrier Reef communities: Lessons from the RRAP Regional Deep Dive | Sustainability Research & Innovation Congress, South Africa | 2022 |
| Rethinking a monitoring, evaluation and learning approach for large-scale reef restoration and adaptation | Sustainability Research & Innovation Congress, South Africa | 2022 |
| Social risk governance and assisted reef adaptation | Social Science Community for the Reef Symposium, Brisbane, Australia | 2022 |
| Understanding the impacts of human-assisted ecosystem adaptation on communities | World Congress of Rural Sociology, Cairns, Australia | 2022 |
| A community-based approach to assessing novel reef intervention risks and opportunities in the Great Barrier Reef. | Social Science Community for the Reef Symposium, Cairns, Australia | 2023 |
| Articulating Reef Futures: Community Narratives on Human-Assisted Ecosystem Adaptation in the Great Barrier Reef | International Sociological Association Congress, Melbourne, Australia | 2023 |
| Building partnerships for Indigenous-led decision making for Reef Restoration and Adaptation in the Great Barrier Reef, Australia. | Australian Marine Sciences Association (AMSA) Conference, Gold Coast, Australia | 2023 |
| Building partnerships for Indigenous-led decision making for Reef Restoration and Adaptation in the Great Barrier Reef, Australia. | Social Science Community for the Reef Symposium, Cairns, Australia | 2023 |
| Creating a future for the Great Barrier Reef: Applied social science and the Reef Restoration and Adaptation Program | Social Science Community for the Reef Symposium, Cairns, Australia | 2023 |
| Expanding conversations about technology and Reef governance: an evolving methodological approach | Social Science Community for the Reef Symposium, Cairns, Australia | 2023 |
| From Conservation to Assisted Ecosystem Adaptation: The Social and Political Implications (invited Plenary) | XX International Sociological Association World Congress of Sociology, Melbourne, Australia | 2023 |
| Optimising stocking densities of wild coral spawn slicks for mass production of larvae and settled corals for restoration | 13th Asia-Pacific Marine Biotechnology Conference (APMBC), Adelaide, Australia | 2023 |
| Scaling collaboration for coral restoration and adaptation in the Great Barrier Reef | Australian Marine Sciences Association (AMSA) Conference, Gold Coast, Australia | 2023 |
| Social licence of COTS management | Social Science Community for the Reef Symposium, Cairns, Australia | 2023 |
| Testing a fine-scale biophysical model to forecast the dispersal of coral larvae for reef restoration | 13th Asia-Pacific Marine Biotechnology Conference (APMBC), Adelaide, Australia | 2023 |
| The role of community-based Hubs in reef restoration: Collaborative monitoring at Moore Reef (jcu.edu.au) | Australian Marine Sciences Association (AMSA) Conference, Gold Coast, Australia | 2023 |
| The social and political implications of assisted ecosystem adaptation | 20th ISA World Congress of Sociology (IPSA), Melbourne, Australia | 2023 |
| A social licence to operate theory for existing and novel Reef interventions on the Great Barrier Reef | Reef Resilience Symposium, Cairns, Australia | 2024 |
| Articulating futures: Community storylines and assisted ecosystem adaptation in the Great Barrier Reef | Imagining and navigating Great Barrier Reef futures in a changing world, Social Science Community for the Reef Meeting 1 | 2024 |
| Articulating reef futures: community perspectives on restoration, adaptation, and the Great Barrier Reef | Reef Futures Symposium, Quintana Roo, Mexico | 2024 |
| Australians support multi-pronged action to build ecosystem resilience in the Great Barrier Reef. | Australian Coral Reef Society (ACRS) Conference, Perth, Australia | 2024 |
| Collaborative monitoring for assisted coral recovery: opportunities and potential benefits for large scale deployments and lessons from a pilot study at Moore Reef | Reef Resilience Symposium, Cairns, Australia | 2024 |
| Community and stakeholder perceptions of resilience-based management in the Great Barrier Reef | Reef Resilience Symposium, Cairns, Australia | 2024 |
| Cultivating capital: Enhancing communities through Great Barrier Reef adaptation and management | Reef Resilience Symposium, Cairns, Australia | 2024 |
| Cultivating capital: Enhancing communities through Great Barrier Reef adaptation and management | Social Science Community for the Great Barrier Reef (SSCR) Symposium 2024, Gold Coast, Australia | 2024 |
| Do the Australian public support intervention to protect, restore, and accelerate adaptation to climate change in the Great Barrier Reef? | Social Science Community for the Great Barrier Reef (SSCR) Symposium 2024, Gold Coast, Australia | 2024 |
| Keynote – A Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Strategy for engaging reef communities in large-scale assisted ecosystem adaptation | Reef Resilience Symposium, Cairns, Australia | 2024 |
| Lessons on community engagement for ecosystem restoration and assisted adaptation: the case of the Australian Great Barrier Reef restoration and adaptation program | Reef Futures Symposium, Quintana Roo, Mexico | 2024 |
| Mobilizing communities for reef protection, restoration, and adaptation | Reef Futures Symposium, Quintana Roo, Mexico | 2024 |
| Research to support Indigenous-led decision making for Reef Restoration and Adaptation in the Great Barrier Reef, Australia | Reef Resilience Symposium, Cairns, Australia | 2024 |
| Scaling out, up and deep: Lessons in collaborative planning from the RRAP Community Panels | Reef Resilience Symposium, Cairns, Australia | 2024 |
| The social benefits of stakeholder engagement: participant experiences in the Reef Restoration and Adaptation Program’s Engagement Advisory Group | Reef Resilience Symposium, Cairns, Australia | 2024 |
| Is there a looming crisis of trust in science and management agencies among Great Barrier Reef communities? | 5th Annual Symposium for the Social Sciences Community for the Reef | 2025 |
| Mapping the Way Forward: Participatory Site Selection for Coral Restoration Pilots on the Great Barrier Reef. | 5th Annual Symposium of the Social Science Community for the Great Barrier Reef | 2025 |
| Navigating emotional tides: a longitudinal study of how people feel about the possibility of novel interventions in the Great Barrier Reef | Australian Marine Sciences Association 2025 Conference | 2025 |
| Temporal shifts in public emotion and the affective politics of Reef Interventions | 5th Annual Symposium of the Social Science Community for the Great Barrier Reef , REEFLECTIONS: Understanding the Great Barrier Reef through time | 2025 |
| The mammoths in the room: Demystifying deliberative spaces for scientist-community dialogues on novel reef interventions (facilitated panel session) | The 5th Annual Symposium of the Social Science Community for the Great Barrier Reef (‘Reeflections’) | 2025 |
| Building resilient and adaptive restoration policy | Social Science Community for the Reef Symposium, Brisbane, Australia | 2022 |
| Building resilient and adaptive restoration policy in the Great Barrier Reef | IUCN Environmental Law Colloquium, Brisbane, Australia | 2022 |
| Building resilient and adaptive restoration policy in the Great Barrier Reef | Reef Futures Symposium, Key Largo, United States of America | 2022 |
| Exploring international regulatory models, and adaptive governance landscapes for Reef Interventions | Australian Marine Sciences Association (AMSA) Conference, Cairns, Australia | 2022 |
| Reef Restoration and Adaptation: Exploring new regulatory and governance landscapes | Reef Futures Symposium, Key Largo, United States of America | 2022 |
| The challenges and recommendations for the governance of marine cloud brightening | IUCN Environmental Law Colloquium, Brisbane, Australia | 2022 |
| Transforming restoration policy in the Great Barrier Reef | Sustainability Research & Innovation Congress, South Africa | 2022 |
| Building adaptive and resilient restoration policy in the Great Barrier Reef | 10th World Conference on Ecological Restoration (SER2023), Darwin, Australia | 2023 |
| Legal barriers and opportunities for marine and coastal restoration | 10th World Conference on Ecological Restoration (SER2023), Darwin, Australia | 2023 |
| Restoration governance and lessons for adaptive and resilient policy in the Great Barrier Reef | Australian Marine Sciences Association (AMSA) Conference, Gold Coast, Australia | 2023 |
| Governance principles for best practice Governance principles for best practice | Australian Marine Sciences Association (AMSA) Conference, Hobart, Australia | 2024 |
