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).
