Recognising that no one group alone could solve the climate change challenges facing coral reefs, and that such a challenge required leadership and a strong drive for innovation, the Foundation convened experts from its network to develop a Portfolio of research addressing a vision of “resilient coral reefs, successfully adapting to climate change”.
This research Portfolio comprises three priority groupings: Attributes, Solutions and Adaptation and Integration.
The Portfolio begins with the attributes of a resilient Reef successfully adapting to climate change. Understanding what constitutes a reef resilient to climate change and how it can be measured and communicated will provide the baseline and metrics for managers, policy makers and users confronting an ecosystem put directly at risk by climate change. Attributes projects extend across two streams, core coral reef systems and socio-economic systems.
In parallel, the Portfolio develops a suite of solutions and adaptation options which, once researched, could allow more of the Reef to adapt and survive, buying time until mitigation measures take effect. Solutions & adaptation projects address two streams of work:
- Ecological and physical solutions & adaptation strategies which seek to minimise the effects of increasing water temperature and ocean acidification, and assist ecological communities to adapt.
- Enabling strategies which address industry, community and management capacity to adapt to climate change and to adopt solutions.
Integration projects bring together the learnings and outcomes from the other research streams, minimising risk of divergence and unintended consequences. Integration activities focus on the development of integration tools and technologies to provide the critical decision support framework for management and policy makers as the effects of climate change are felt more deeply.
Portfolio supported by:
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Research Portfolio Available for Download
Portfolio Part A
Portfolio Part B - Project Summaries