Further information about the Reef Rescue Marine Monitoring Program can be obtained by visiting the websites of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority and the Caring for our Country program.  Links to these external sites are provided in the text below.

Reef Rescue Marine Monitoring Program (MMP)

Background

The Reef Water Quality Protection Plan (RWQPP or 'Reef Plan') was released by the Australian and Queensland Governments in October 2003.  The Reef Plan focused on identifying and implementing solutions to improve water quality through sustainable natural resource management, with the ultimate goal to 'halt and reverse the decline in water quality entering the Great Barrier Reef within ten years'.  As part of the Reef Plan, the RWQPP Marine Monitoring Program was established in 2005, funded by the Australian Government and managed by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority.

In 2008, the new Federal Government committed $200 million to a five-year Reef Rescue Plan - a comprehensive program to tackle climate change and to improve water quality in the Great Barrier Reef.  The Reef Rescue Plan is a key component of Caring for our Country, the Australian Government's $2.25 billion initiative to restore the health of Australia's environment and improve land management practices.  The Reef Rescue Plan represents a new, coordinated approach to environmental management in Australia that is built on transparent and consistent national targets. 

Through the Reef Rescue Plan, $22 million has been allocated for a Water Quality Monitoring and Reporting Program to expand existing efforts and to continue the already established RWQPP Marine Monitoring Program.  In 2008/2009 the Marine Monitoring Program is supported through Reef Rescue and is now known as the Reef Rescue Marine Monitoring Program.  The Program is a critical component of the assessment of any long-term improvement in regional water quality that will occur as best practice land management is widely adopted across the catchments feeding into the Great Barrier Reef.

What will the Marine Monitoring Program achieve?

The Reef Rescue Marine Monitoring Program assesses the health of key marine ecosystems - inshore coral reefs and intertidal seagrasses - and the condition of water quality in the inshore Great Barrier Reef lagoon.  The monitoring program has been developed using the best available science and is continuously improved with the advancement of scientific understanding. 

Through the Reef and Rainforest Research Centre, the Reef Rescue Marine Monitoring Program is strongly linked to the Australian Government's Marine and Tropical Sciences Research Facility, through which indicators and technologies can be operationalised.

In 2007/2008, the Marine Monitoring Program involved two core programs and seven sub-programs:

• Inshore biological modelling:  (a) Inshore coral reef monitoring; (b) Intertidal seagrass monitoring; (c) Assessing light as a driver of change in seagrasses of the Great Barrier Reef; and

• Water quality monitoring:  (d) Inshore marine water quality monitoring; (e) Floodplume water quality monitoring; (f) Inshore and river pesticide monitoring; (g) Remote sensing of water quality in the Great Barrier Reef.