Abstract:
The Great Barrier Reef off the queensland coast of Australia is managed with a goal of maintaining and enhancing those qualities which made it the world's first (1981) and largest (348, 700 km(2)) marine World Heritage Area while keeping it accessible for multiple uses, notably tourism, fishing and shipping. Basic and strategic research, ranging from the Great Barrier Reef Expedition of 1928 to the present, have provided a substantial knowledge base on the nature and function of the Reef, Most recently, two initiatives have combined to give scientists opportunities to become more responsive to the needs of users and managers: the development of the Twenty-five Year Strategic Plan for the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area, and the establishment of the Go-operative Research Centre for the Ecologically Sustainable Development of the Great Barrier Reef. The completed Plan includes a vision, principles, objectives and strategies based on the cumulative insights coming from all parties. Three issues of widespread concern have become major foci of research - the sustainable limits to commercial and recreational fishing, the effects of runoff of silt, nutrients and contaminants from the land, and the provision of highly protected areas for biodiversity protection.
