Australia
A Country Becomes A Steward
Aerial view of The Great Barrier Reef. Photo © Nickj
The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA) undertook the most comprehensive campaign for community involvement and participatory planning for any environmental issue in Australia’s history; including two phases of public consultation and a huge amount of ongoing public education for their re-zoning process. It was intensely stakeholder driven with different community groups being informed at each major milestone in planning. The methods used to communicate with these groups included:
- A series of technical information sheets that helped educate the public about the reasons behind re-zoning and key aspects of the planning program
- The Draft Zoning Plan that was publicly released
- The Revised Zoning Plan
- Periodic re-zoning update brochures that were distributed throughout the planning program
- Background publications/papers that were released to the public on the participation process and lessons learned
The GBR also strives to keep all information transparent and accessible by constantly updating their web site. They have also made efforts to capture lessons learned in multiple documents over the years. Some of these lessons learned are:
- There is no simple way of creating a conflict-free consultative mechanisms for large complex areas.
- People needed to understand there was a problem before accepting that a solution is required.
- Due to a lack of awareness and understanding of the key issues by many stakeholders, a public communication and information sharing was critical. The re-zoning process was not about managing fisheries but rather about protecting biodiversity.
- Different messages were needed for different target audiences.
- Some elements of the community information sessions were more successful than others; for example, the format that focused on individual discussions rather than a speaker podium at which stakeholders could publically vent was more productive.
- There were those who supported the proposed increase in protection but would not openly state their views because of peer pressure.
- Need to anticipate a large number of submissions/suggestions from different user groups.
For more details about these and other lessons learned on this major community awareness strategy see pages 7-10 in RAP: An Ecosystem Level Approach To Biodiversity Protection Planning and pages 4-8 in Barriers to Communication: How These Critical Aspects Were Addressed During the Public Participation for the Rezoning of The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park.
For more information on the latest outcomes and information regarding the public awareness campaign and the GBR, see the “Outlook Report” for the Great Barrier Reef, which was published in 2009.