Like the ecosystem itself, the sector dedicated to its study and regulation is complex. There are as many as sixteen organisations involved in scientific research on the Great Barrier Reef, including James Cook, Queensland and Sydney Universities and the Australian Institute of Marine Science, to name just a few.
Helping to shape the research agenda, as a significant research user, is the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA), charged with overall management and regulation of the Reef. There are also a number of other regulatory bodies, at both State and Federal levels, which maintain a legislated interest in the Reef.
Together, the Australian and Queensland Governments spend approximately $100 million annually in research and management activities on the Great Barrier Reef.
The Foundation takes the view that it will not duplicate support for projects or priorities in which government spending is already adequate; instead it invests in projects which might be missing from current programs or in areas in which government and other investors either cannot or will not invest. The Foundation’s Research Vision and Framework provides the mechanism to focus research investment.
How we interact with Science
The Foundation’s close relationships with the science community are essential to delivering on its vision.
These relationships occur at multiple levels with the scientists and scientific institutions:
- Executives from the leading research and management institutions on the reef participate in the International Scientific Advisory Committee;
- Experts across a wide range of fields are involved in the Working Groups which build out the Research Framework;
- World class researchers deliver the research projects we commission;
- Managers and decision makers draw on the outcomes of the research projects,
