INDICATORS ... their application for marine protected area management

1. World Heritage Workshop Paris, Jan 2007 INDICATORS ... their application for marine protected area management Jon Day Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority

2. INDICATORS Definition - A measure (quantitative or qualitative) of how close we are to achieving what we set out to achieve (ie our objective) Many examples of effectiveness indicators eg. IOC (2006); WWF • Ecological indicators • Social–economic indicators • Governance performance indicators

3. Indicators in Great Barrier Reef Marine Park • Often asked: “Is the GBR healthy?” or “How do you know?” • So, what can indicators do? • Summarise environmental trends & integrate environmental information for management. • Provide environmental information to resource managers, users, community and/or the decision-makers.

4. How does GBRMPA use indicators? • GBRMPA has statutory responsibility for managing the GBR Marine Park. • We report on its status through • Annual Reports to Parliament - statutory • State of the Reef Report (ongoing, web-based) • WH Periodic Reports (6 yearly) • Recent review of GBRMP Act recommended statutory obligation to report periodically on the health/ state of the GBR Marine Park. • Outlook report (5 yearly) – soon to be statutory

5. Key Performance Indicators Clear links to Authority’s Goal & Portfolio Budget Statement Goal: To provide for protection, wise use and enjoyment of the GBR in perpetuity through care and development of the GBR Marine Park.

7. Monitoring specific management initiatives

8. Monitoring specific management initiatives

9. Monitoring specific management initiatives

10. Dugong recognised as a special value of the GBRWHA with world-wide declining populations Monitoring of dugong populations in the Marine Park Management Actions eg DPAs Concern re. apparent decline following 3 surveys (1986,, 1992, 1994) INDICATOR – No. dugong Monitoring & adaptive management Monitoring Indicator Management decision

11. Monitoring in the GBR • Huge variety of monitoring • long-term(site specific & regional scales); • reactive/ impact assessment(generally site-specific); • compliance(issue-specific) • Some 50+ monitoring projects currently underway (biophysical, biological, social) • Formal monitoring programs • Day-to-day management monitoring • Volunteer monitoring eg. • Seagrass Watch • ‘Eye on the Reef ‘ • CAP Reef • Other external monitoring programs

12. What does an indicator need to be? • Representative?: is it representative of the GBR as a whole or an issue? • Responsive?: will it change according to change in the health of the GBR? • Scientific merit?: can it be measured accurately and relatively simply? • Meaningful?: espec to managers & community. • Threshold?: is there a level at which concern will be raised in time to take action? • Ecologically, socially & economically relevant

13. Indicators – lessons learnt • Clear policy objectives tend to generate good indicators (ie the objective ‘steers’ the indicator) • Not practical to develop indicators for every objective • Strong links between policy and indicator provide a sound basis for monitoring, evaluation and communication. • Think about complementing indicators or measurable aspects for area outside MPA (ie. to assess the broader context and understand whether management actions inside MPA are working). • Challenge is to develop performance indicators that are robust to the many sources of uncertainty inherent in managing natural systems – specific, measurable, consistent, sensitive to changes being measured, cost effective

14. Indicators – lessons learnt (cont) • Problems of targets, particularly if using simplistic formulae: • spatial targets (what happens in the remaining areas?) • Many monitoring programs ‘do the thing right’ (ie precise local measurements) rather than ‘doing the right thing’! • Need to monitor wisely …. at ecologically- and socially-relevant temporal and spatial scales • Hugely complex system • Multi-link processes; which part(s) are pressures acting on? • Be aware of cumulative impacts.

15. “Each generation accepts the species composition and stock sizes that they first observe as a natural baseline from which to evaluate changes. This ignores the fact that this baseline may already represent a disturbed state. The resource then continues to decline, but the next generation resets their baseline to this newly depressed state. The result is a gradual accommodation of the creeping disappearance of resource species, and inappropriate reference points ... or for identifying targets …..” Pauly 1995 Indicators - lessons learned “Shifting baselines”

16. Recent increase represents small fluctuation in a population that is far fewer than existed in the 1960s • South of Cooktown, GBR dugong population “…is a fraction of what it was decades ago” Dugong in the GBR Aerial surveys since mid 1980’s:

17. Indicators – lessons learnt (cont) • Indicators must reflect changes at spatial and temporal scales of relevance to management and what needs to be measured • Need differing indicators for site level and system level • Think of your audience when developing indicator • ‘Traffic light’ approach for simple depiction • Ecological goals, socio-economic and governance goals are not mutually exclusive; but they do need different evaluation criteria/indicators.

18. For more information about GBRMPA’s activities:www.gbrmpa.gov.au THANK YOU