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New Science and Management Approaches to Support Coral Reefs in a Time of Rapid Climate Change

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A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 June 2025) | Viewed by 10500

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Adam Smith

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Guest Editor

Reef Ecologic, Townsville, Australia
Interests: coral reef; reef restoration; climate change; fisheries; risk assessment; underwater survey

Prof. John 'Charlie' Veron

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Guest Editor

Coral Reef Research, Millaa Millaa, Australia
Interests: coral taxonomy; climate change; ocean sentinel

Prof. Peter Harrison

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Guest Editor

Professor, Marine Ecology, Southern Cross University, Lismore, Australia
Interests: science; ecology; conservation; coral; ocean sentinel

Dr. Katharina Fabricius

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Guest Editor

Australian Institute of Marine Science, Townsville, Australia
Interests: coral; ecology; water quality; climate; ocean sentinel

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Coral reefs are among the most productive and biodiverse ecosystems in the world. Humans rely on these coral reef ecosystems to provide significant ecological, economic, social, and cultural resources. The climate crisis is the single greatest threat to coral reefs and the livelihoods, security, and wellbeing of the global population, particularly populations adjacent to coral reefs.

Without radically reducing carbon emissions, the ocean is predicted to be 1–3 °C warmer, 0.2 pH units more acidic, and up to 1 m higher by 2050. Mitigating climate change requires collective action and rapid decarbonization, including an unprecedented energy transition. This calls for research and science-based decision making across political and corporate leaders, in addition to action by individuals on all levels.

We encourage research from individuals and organisations associated with coral reefs, the acceleration of heat tolerance of corals, methods for mass-producing coral, and education and communication strategies designed to strengthen individual and community climate action.

This Special Issue highlights diverse research solutions for increasing the scales and effectiveness of coral restoration and diverse management approaches and encourages increased communication and collaboration with a broad community of practitioners, traditional owners, managers and politicians to share knowledge and take action to support coral reef recovery, while emphasising the critical importance of reducing carbon emissions.

Our goal for this Special Edition is to inform, inspire and influence people to make a positive changes to preserve for reefs and our future.

Dr. Adam Smith
Prof. John 'Charlie' Veron
Prof. Peter Harrison
Dr. Katharina Fabricius
Guest Editors

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Keywords

coral
reef
marine
carbon
climate
leadership
action

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Published Papers (6 papers)

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40 pages, 23953 KB

Open AccessArticle

Creating a National Coral-Focused Climate Change Adaptation Plan for Fiji to Prevent Coral Species Extinction in the Face of Rapid Climate Change: Applying the UNESCO-Endorsed “Reefs of Hope” Ocean Decade Action

by Austin Bowden-Kerby

Sustainability 2025, 17(18), 8430; https://doi.org/10.3390/su17188430 - 19 Sep 2025

Viewed by 1381

Abstract

In the face of recent setbacks to coral reef conservation and restoration due to intensifying marine heat waves, new coral-focused strategies have been developed to accelerate natural processes of coral reef adaptation and recovery. In 2024, these “Reefs of Hope” strategies were endorsed by UNESCO as an Ocean Decade. This paper shares the progress made and methods used and translates the new paradigm into a proposed national coral-focused adaptation plan using Fiji as an example. The primary goal of any coral-focused adaptation plan should be to keep coral species alive despite increasingly lethal temperatures due to ocean warming and, in doing so, to retain as much genetic diversity as possible. This is done by translocating corals locally to secure cooler-water gene bank nurseries, with a focus on heat-adapted, bleaching-resistant corals, which are vital to adaptation. Secondary goals are to restore sexual reproduction to declining and rare coral species and to support natural larval-based recovery and adaptation processes via the creation of “regeneration patches”, which enhance and restore natural recovery processes while facilitating the spread of heat-adapted genetic diversity of both host and symbionts. The proposed plans create a new model of proactive coral-focused adaptation that other reef-owning nations might study, modify to national conditions, and seek funding to implement. These Fiji-based plans are now ready for the next step of national stakeholder input and refinements toward approval by the government and the coral reef conservation community. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Science and Management Approaches to Support Coral Reefs in a Time of Rapid Climate Change)

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20 pages, 665 KB

Open AccessArticle

The Health of the Governance System for Australia’s Great Barrier Reef 2050 Plan: A First Benchmark

by Karen Vella, Allan Patrick Dale, Diletta Calibeo, Mark Limb, Margaret Gooch, Rachel Eberhard, Hurriyet Babacan, Jennifer McHugh and Umberto Baresi

Sustainability 2025, 17(18), 8131; https://doi.org/10.3390/su17188131 - 10 Sep 2025

Viewed by 700

Abstract

The Reef 2050 Long-Term Sustainability Plan (Reef 2050 Plan) was crafted to protect, manage and enhance the resilience of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef (GBR). It explicitly recognises that strengthening governance is key to achieving its targeted outcomes. To date, however, the lack of evaluation of the impact of GBR governance (including many complex policies, programmes and plans) under the Reef 2050 Plan has hindered its adaption. This paper presents a first benchmark of the health of the governance system associated with the Reef 2050 Plan. A novel analytical framework was built to do this. It was populated through the gathering of multiple lines of evidence, including global theory and evaluation practice and case studies and primary data from interviews and workshops with Traditional Owners, experts across government, industry, non-government organisations and other governance systems experts. Our assessment has found the health of governance system to be emergent to maturing, yet strong by global standards. Strengths include robust global engagement, the integrative nature of the Reef 2050 Plan, crisis response systems and GBR Marine Park management. Weaknesses include the increased need for (i) power sharing with Traditional Owners; (ii) rebuilding governmental trust with the farming and fishing sectors; (iii) more contemporary spatial planning for GBR and catchment resilience; and (iv) greater subsidiarity to deliver government programmes. In conclusions, we strongly recommend that regular benchmarking and informed refinement of Reef 2050 Plan governance arrangements would mature the system toward better outcomes. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Science and Management Approaches to Support Coral Reefs in a Time of Rapid Climate Change)

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18 pages, 2414 KB

Open AccessArticle

Deep Deliberation to Enhance Analysis of Complex Governance Systems: Reflecting on the Great Barrier Reef Experience

by Karen Vella, Allan Dale, Margaret Gooch, Diletta Calibeo, Mark Limb, Rachel Eberhard, Hurriyet Babacan, Jennifer McHugh and Umberto Baresi

Sustainability 2025, 17(15), 6911; https://doi.org/10.3390/su17156911 - 30 Jul 2025

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1199

Abstract

Deliberative approaches to governance systems analysis and improvement are rare. Australia’s Great Barrier Reef (GBR) provides the context to describe an innovative approach that combines reflexive and interactive engagement processes to (a) develop and design a framework to assess the GBR’s complex governance system health; and (b) undertake a benchmark assessment of governance system health. We drew upon appreciative inquiry and used multiple lines of evidence, including an extensive literature review, governance system mapping, focus group discussions and personal interviews. Together, these approaches allowed us to effectively engage key actors in value judgements about twenty key characteristic attributes of the governance system. These attributes were organised into four clusters which enabled us to broadly describe and benchmark the system. These included the following: (i) system coherence; (ii) connectivity and capacity; (iii) knowledge application; (iv) operational aspects of governance. This process facilitated deliberative discussion and consensus-building around attribute health and priorities for transformative action. This was achieved through the inclusion of diverse perspectives from across the governance system, analysis of rich datasets, and the provision of guidance from the project’s Steering Committee and Technical Working Group. Our inclusive, collaborative and deliberative approach, its analytical depth, and the framework’s repeatability enable continuous monitoring and adaptive improvement of the GBR governance system and can be readily applied to complex governance systems elsewhere. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Science and Management Approaches to Support Coral Reefs in a Time of Rapid Climate Change)

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21 pages, 4656 KB

Open AccessArticle

Assessment of Multiple Citizen Science Methods and Carbon Footprint of Tourists in Two Australian Marine Parks

by Adam K. Smith, Joseph D. DiBattista, Samatha J. Tol, Leona Kustra, Joanne Stacey, Toni Massey and Paul E. Hardisty

Sustainability 2024, 16(24), 11019; https://doi.org/10.3390/su162411019 - 16 Dec 2024

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2109

Abstract

Citizen or community science (CS) projects in the marine environment rarely consider carbon footprint and sustainability. In this case study, we assessed the effectiveness of ten CS methods used by tourists in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park (GBRMP) and Coral Sea Marine Park (CSMP) who participated in the 2023 Citizen Science of the Great Barrier Reef expedition and the carbon footprint associated with these field methods. We also assessed the baseline coral reef knowledge of the tourists, observations of marine species, and the communication of our results to the public. Specifically, the tourists utilised up to ten methods: iNaturalist, CoralWatch, Great Barrier Reef Census, Eye on the Reef (EoR), environmental DNA (eDNA) testing kits, photogrammetry, social surveys, and Red Map, as well as marine debris and marine vegetation collections. A total of 10,421 data points were collected across 14 days, including 5390 records (52% of the total) uploaded to iNaturalist, comprising 640 plant and animal species. Public awareness of the CS expedition reached over 700,000 people based on estimates from advertising, media, social media, family and friends, and conference presentations. We estimated the total carbon footprint for the expedition as 268.7 tonnes of CO₂ or 4.47 tonnes of CO₂ per person, equivalent to AUD 112 needed to offset this input. Based on these results, our recommendations to leverage CS methods include governmental review strategies, temporal replication to allow for the measurement of changes through time, integrating sustainability into CS ecotourism platforms, and encouraging broad participation. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Science and Management Approaches to Support Coral Reefs in a Time of Rapid Climate Change)

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10 pages, 224 KB

Open AccessOpinion

Ocean-Based Solutions Can Help Close the Climate Emissions Gap

by Tom Pickerell and Oliver S. Ashford

Sustainability 2025, 17(17), 7951; https://doi.org/10.3390/su17177951 - 3 Sep 2025

Viewed by 768

Abstract

In the context of mounting climate impacts and growing urgency to meet the Paris Agreement goals, the ocean is now increasingly being recognised not just as a victim of climate change, but as an indispensable part of the solution. Research has demonstrated that readily actionable ocean-based climate solutions can help close the emissions gap (the difference between the greenhouse gas emission reductions needed to limit global warming to 1.5 °C, and projected global emissions considering current national pledges and policies) by providing approximately a third of the mitigation needed to keep the Paris Agreement’s 1.5 °C goal within reach. This mitigation potential (of fully actioning these solutions) is unequally divided across seven key ocean-based action areas (listed in decreasing order of magnitude): phasing out offshore oil and gas; deploying offshore renewable energy infrastructure; decarbonising maritime transport and associated infrastructure; decarbonising ocean and aquatic food value chains; carbon capture and storage; marine and coastal conservation and restoration; and decarbonising coastal tourism. We argue that achieving the full potential of ocean climate solutions will require smart governance, drastically increased financial investment, and international cooperation. Accomplishing this, however, will bring strong co-benefits for biodiversity, food systems, and coastal resilience. The Third United Nations Ocean Conference and 30th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP 30) present rare opportunities to mainstream the ocean into global climate strategies. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Science and Management Approaches to Support Coral Reefs in a Time of Rapid Climate Change)

12 pages, 754 KB

Open AccessOpinion

Tropical Cyclones and Coral Reefs Under a Changing Climate: Prospects and Likely Synergies Between Future High-Energy Storms and Other Acute and Chronic Coral Reef Stressors

by Stephen M. Turton

Sustainability 2025, 17(17), 7651; https://doi.org/10.3390/su17177651 - 25 Aug 2025

Viewed by 1787

Abstract

Shallow warm-water coral reefs are among the most biodiverse and valuable ecosystems on Earth, supporting a quarter of all marine life and delivering critical ecosystem services such as coastal protection, food security, and economic benefits through tourism and fisheries. However, these ecosystems are under escalating threat from anthropogenic climate change, with tropical cyclones representing their most significant high-energy storm disturbances. Approximately 70% of the world’s coral reefs lie within the tropical cyclone belt, where the frequency, intensity, and rainfall associated with tropical cyclones are changing due to global warming. Coral reefs already compromised by climate-induced stressors—such as marine heatwaves, ocean acidification, and sea-level rise—are increasingly vulnerable to the compounding impacts of more intense and slower-moving cyclones. Projected changes in cyclone behaviour, including regional variations in storm intensity and rainfall, may further undermine coral reef resilience, pushing many reef systems toward irreversible degradation. Future impacts will be regionally variable but increasingly severe without immediate climate mitigation. Building reef resilience will require a combination of rapid global carbon emission reductions and ambitious adaptation strategies, including enhanced reef management and restoration and conservation efforts. The long-term survival of coral reefs now hinges on coordinated global action and support for reef-dependent communities. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Science and Management Approaches to Support Coral Reefs in a Time of Rapid Climate Change)

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