A summary of the engagement and regulatory environment findings of the RRAP Concept Feasibility Program, and recommendations for the required R&D for these areas.
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In 2018, the Australian Government provided $6M for the Reef Restoration and Adaptation Program (RRAP) study into the feasibility of intervening at scale on the Great Barrier Reef to help it recover from, and adapt to, the effects of climate change.
Modelling and analysis by our partnership of leading Australian researchers found the Great Barrier Reef would need a large-scale, integrated approach to help protect and restore it, as well as assistance to help it adapt to the impacts of climate change.
In a business case presented to government in December 2019, RRAP outlined the significant research and development (R&D) effort required to apply rigorous testing and risk assessment to potential intervention methods.
These methods would form a toolkit of safe, acceptable interventions that could be implemented at an effective scale if, when and where it was decided action was needed. This would allow Reef managers and users to plan for a more optimistic future.
This suite of interventions would take an integrated three-point approach to helping the Great Barrier Reef:
This ambitious undertaking would require not only our best minds working in partnership across many organisations and fields of expertise, but importantly, the input and support of Traditional Owners, Reef communities and industries and the wider Australian public.
The analysis found effective intervention strategies, combined with carbon emissions reduction and best-practice conventional management, could double the likelihood of sustaining the Reef in good condition to 2050.
Potential returns to Australia through economic activity, jobs, community development and capacity-building were conservatively estimated to be in the tens of billions of dollars, many times greater than the required investment.
The RRAP R&D Program will place Australia as the global leader in coral reef adaptation and restoration. It will open opportunities to partner internationally and export our know-how to other countries whose reefs face similar challenges.
The overarching case for investing in a comprehensive R&D program to provide options to help protect and restore the Great Barrier Reef from the impacts of climate change. It includes a summary of the findings of the RRAP Concept Feasibility Program, a fully costed R&D program designed to provide policymakers with investment-ready interventions, and an optimal governance and program management structure to deliver it.
A summary of the engagement and regulatory environment findings of the RRAP Concept Feasibility Program, and recommendations for the required R&D for these areas.
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A key reference document summarising the potential on-Reef interventions and how they were identified.
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Environmental and economic modelling of proposed Reef Restoration and Adaptation Program interventions and recommendations for intervention strategies.
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The recommended Reef Restoration and Adaptation Program Research and Development Plan to deliver a suite of reef restoration and adaptation interventions.
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Recommendations to foster international collaboration in reef restoration science, training and implementation and achieving globally-beneficial outcomes.
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The recommended optimal governance structure and management systems for the Reef Restoration and Adaptation Program Research and Development effort.
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This report presents the main results of the 2022 survey aimed to provide an understanding of Australian attitudes toward the development and deployment of novel restoration and adaptation options in the Great Barrier Reef (GBR).
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Findings of a representative survey of Australians, industry and stakeholder interviews and scoping the issues and needs of Traditional Owners.
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The complexity and gaps to be addressed in the regulatory environment for restoration and adaptation R&D and activities in the Great Barrier Reef.
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The potential interventions investigated by the Reef Restoration and Adaptation Program; knowledge gaps in understanding benefits, risks and feasibility.
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Summary of the current global knowledge of coral restoration methods and practises, highlighting the common issues encountered as the field has evolved.
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Possible delivery methods for the proposed Reef interventions, analysing cost and scale implications for each, and identifying potential synergies and efficiencies.
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Preliminary results of ecological modelling and analyses of the likely trajectories of coral condition over time under climate change, with and without intervention.
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Discussions on how the broader decision-support system needs will be met were continuing at the time of the release of the RRAP reports and involve multiple stakeholders and research providers. Given this, the recommendations in this report are now obsolete.
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Cost-benefit analysis of proposed Reef interventions, in different climate scenarios, in different combinations, to understand trade-offs and optimise decisions.
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Combining economic data with forecast coral condition to estimate current and future benefits of proposed interventions, under different climate change scenarios.
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Engineering concepts for systems to grow and deploy new corals on the Reef, at scale, as researched and developed by the Reef Restoration and Adaptation Program.
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Modelling to investigate cold-water injection as a potential intervention, to cool reef waters and help prevent thermal stress, which can lead to coral bleaching.
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The potential benefits of ultra-thin surface films as a Reef Restoration and Adaptation Program intervention to cool and shade coral reefs, using eReefs modelling.
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Using modelling to investigate potential benefits of large-scale solar radiation management interventions to cool and shade the Great Barrier Reef.
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Reef Restoration and Adaptation Program
The Reef Restoration and Adaptation Program respects and recognises all Traditional Owners of the Great Barrier Reef as First Nations Peoples holding the hopes, dreams, traditions and cultures of the Reef.
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