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 Eastern Cape York (ECY) and the adjacent GBR. To ensure GBR policy makers and managers better consider the needs of GBR-dependent and GBR-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 area’s human dimensions, the project team has gathered evidence from peer-reviewed literature, the grey literature and other forms of knowledge such as Indigenous, historical 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 to be discussed in regional expert panel meetings using a consistent set of decision rules for scoring regional resilience based on available evidence.
Gooch, M., Dale, A., Marshall, N., & Vella, K. (2018). Assessing the human dimensions of the Great Barrier Reef: An Eastern Cape York Region focus. Cairns: Reef and Rainforest Research Centre Limited.