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World Heritage Workshop Paris, Jan 2007. INDICATORS ... their application for marine protected area management. Jon Day Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority. INDICATORS.
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World Heritage Workshop Paris, Jan 2007 INDICATORS ... their application for marine protected area management Jon Day Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority
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
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.
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
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.
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
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
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
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
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.
“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”
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:
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.
For more information about GBRMPA’s activities:www.gbrmpa.gov.au THANK YOU