Stakeholder and
Traditional Owner Engagement

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.

Traditional Owners and Indigenous Partnerships
Coral monitoring on Erub Island

Coral monitoring on Erub Island. Photo: Tristan Simpson.

  • Understanding public perceptions of reef restoration and adaptation, the risks and benefits of R&D and intervention implementation, as well as opportunities to deliver community and stakeholder co-benefits
  • Designing and evaluating best-practice, place-based, engagement opportunities for Reef communities and the general public
  • Involving stakeholders, Reef Traditional Owners and communities in co-design, evaluation and adaptive management of the R&D program.

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:

  • understanding risks and opportunities to inform technology evaluation and design
  • acquiring the critical knowledge to leverage co-benefits
  • improving stakeholder participation and community support.
Photo Credit: Mark Fitz / Ocean Image Bank

Social license and impact monitoring sub-project

Project Leader: Stewart Lockie, JCU

This includes:

  • a biennial national survey designed to track broad public sentiment toward reef restoration and adaptation
  • a regional deep dive into Reef catchment community and stakeholder perceptions of reef restoration and adaptation priorities, opportunities and risks
  • a social, cultural and economic impact assessment that will estimate and, where possible, measure the spatial and social distribution of opportunities, risks and benefits associated with reef restoration and adaptation.

Best-practice engagement sub-project

Project Leader: Bruce Taylor, CSIRO

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.

Adaptive governance and learning sub-project

Project Leader: Karen Vella, QUT

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.

Publications and Resources:

Journal Articles

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

  • This study reviews international experiences with regional ecosystem adaptation and highlights challenges and opportunities to guide future research and policy

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

  • This study found that when reef visitors observed assisted coral recovery devices in the water, their concerns about using such technologies significantly decreased, suggesting in situ exposure can improve public acceptance.

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

  • This paper proposes a framework for understanding the social risks associated with climate change and assisted ecosystem adaptation

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

  • This study found strong public support across Australia for a wide range of actions—including large-scale restoration and resilience-building measures—to protect the Great Barrier Reef, with trust in science closely linked to support for intervention.

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

  • This study explores how collaborative sustainable business models can create and capture value for large-scale coral reef restoration, emphasizing the strategic benefits of partnering across sectors.

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

  • This paper examines how community-generated storylines can shape and support socially acceptable pathways for assisted ecosystem adaptation in the Great Barrier Reef.

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

  • This paper advocates for strategic environmental assessments of regional solar radiation management methods—such as marine cloud brightening—highlighting both their potential and the complex challenges they pose for governance and impact evaluation.

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

  • This paper shares reflections from the Reef Restoration and Adaptation Program on community engagement in novel and large-scale ecosystem restoration and climate adaptation interventions.

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

  • This study reveals strong public support for innovative interventions aimed at protecting, restoring, and accelerating climate adaptation in the Great Barrier Reef, highlighting trust in science as a key factor influencing acceptance.

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

 

Reports and Guidelines

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

 
Muir, B., Forester, M. Maclean, K., Devow, D., Evans-Illidge, E., Grant, C., Moran, C., Schmitt, K., Taylor, B. Anderson, M., Bassani, G., Bassani, L., Bassani, P., Bassani, S., Bassani, S., Blair, J., Butler, H., Cassady, J., Cassady, R., Chippendale, J., Cummins, M., Devow, D., Devow, Edmund, R., Eggmolesse, M., Forester, A., Fourmile, B., Fourmile, Gibson, D., Harrigan, S., Hobson, N., Johnson, B., Koroi, C., Koroi, K., Koroi, S., Liddy, A., Liddy, E., Mann, M., Muir, R., Oui, E., Pascoe, G., Prestipino, C., Purcell, D., Rist, P., Rowe, K., Savage, E., Sheehan, D., Spratt, N., Spratt, S., Thomson, E., Thomson, T., Van Issum, H., Warren, C., Witteman, D., & V. Wyles. (2024) Guidance for prospective partners to discuss deployment opportunities for RRAP technology with Traditional Owners of sea Country, (pp19)
Fact Sheets

Social research to support responsible adaptation

Subprogram leaders:

Bruce Taylor

Dr Bruce Taylor

CSIRO

Karen Vella​

Associate Professor Karen Vella

QUT

Stewart Lockie

Professor Stewart Lockie

JCU