This report focuses on the trial of a regionally-specific framework to assess and monitor the human dimensions of the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) as they relate to the Mackay-Whitsunday Region and the adjacent GBR. To ensure GBR policy makers and managers better consider the needs of Reef-dependent and Reef-associated communities and industries, the aim of this project is to develop a participatory approach to the assessment, monitoring and bench- marking of human dimensions of relevance to the region and to the GBR. In considering the Mackay-Whitsunday Region’s human dimensions, the project team has gathered evidence from peer-reviewed literature, the grey literature and other forms of knowledge such as Indigenous and local knowledge. The process involves synthesising evidence from diverse sources, presenting the evidence as a series of tables, and allocating draft scores to attributes of each key human dimension theme or cluster. The tables and proposed scores are then discussed in regional expert panel meetings using a consistent set of decision rules for supporting the scoring based on available evidence. Key findings from the evidence gathered so far for the Mackay-Whitsunday Region are summarised here.
Gooch, M., Dale, A., Marshall, N., & Vella, K. (2018). Assessing the human dimensions of the Great Barrier Reef: A Mackay-Whitsunday Region focus. Cairns: Reef and Rainforest Research Centre Limited.