Have your say on our Climate Change Adaptation Strategy

Overview

Since the development of the first Reef Climate Change Action Plan (Action Plan) in 2007 by the Reef Marine Park Authority (RMPA), the prominence of climate change in public discourse and environmental policy has increased dramatically. Today, climate change is a mainstream issue with widely recognised significance for the future of society and the environment. A key issue for Australia is the vulnerability of coral reefs — and the communities and industries that they support — to projected changes in climate.

Although the Reef is expected to cope with climate change better than most coral reef systems around the world, it is not immune to the effects of warmer seas, changed rainfall patterns, increased storm intensity and ocean acidification predicted for this century. Already, the Reef is showing signs of high sensitivity to these changes. Mass coral bleaching events in the summers of 1997-98, 2001-02 and 2005-06 demonstrated the consequences of warming seas, and the severe damage caused by Tropical Cyclones Hamish in 2009 and Yasi in 2011 highlighted the risks from increased frequency of severe storms.

The evidence of coral reef vulnerability and the predictions of climate change underpin the Reef Outlook Report 2009 conclusion that climate change is the dominant threat to the future of the Reef. We seek your feedback on this document, which outlines our strategy to address these challenges, and sets out our plan for action over the next five years. It builds on the strong foundations laid by our pioneering work under the Reef Climate Change Action Plan (2007–2012).