Monitoring Reef Stewardship (PROTECT)

Our Projects

Promoting Conservation Stewardship

Monitoring Reef Stewardship (PROTECT)

The PROTECT project established the first systematic monitoring framework to track community Reef stewardship across the Great Barrier Reef. By combining social science with AI-driven data collection, the project mapped over 650 stewardship programs and identified the key motivations and actions of local residents. This collaboration delivered a public monitoring portal and a practical “Theory of Change” guide to help managers design more impactful initiatives. Ultimately, PROTECT provides the baseline data needed to foster a “Healthy Reef” and “Healthy People” in alignment with the Reef 2050 Plan.

About this project

The People and Reef Organisations Tackling Environmental Change Together (PROTECT) project was established to fill a critical monitoring gap within the Reef 2050 Long-term Sustainability Plan. While stewardship is a core objective for the Great Barrier Reef (GBR), there has historically been no systematic way to track how people and communities take action to maintain Reef resilience. This project provides the first consolidated framework and monitoring tool to capture the diverse actions individuals and organisations take to protect GBR values. By integrating data on stewardship programs, individual actions, and enabling conditions, PROTECT empowers managers and investors to see where efforts are concentrated and how to effectively accelerate community-led protection of the Reef.

Our approach

The project utilised a six-stage, multi-disciplinary approach that combined academic rigor with stakeholder co-design. We began with a scoping review to develop a robust Conceptual Framework for Reef Stewardship, which was subsequently refined through an extensive user-needs analysis involving 51 stakeholders from government, NGOs, and community groups. To make monitoring scalable, we pioneered the use of AI and machine learning to identify stewardship initiatives from public web data. This was complemented by primary data collection through the Social and Economic Long-Term Monitoring Program (SELTMP) to understand the motivations and actions of Reef residents. Finally, we translated these insights into a public-facing portal and dashboard for ongoing data visualisation.

Goals/key achievements

PROTECT successfully delivered a comprehensive monitoring ecosystem for GBR stewardship. Key achievements include:
  • Conceptual Framework: Defined the diverse range of on-ground, civic, social, and household actions that constitute stewardship.
  • Baseline Datasets: Identified approximately 650 stewardship programs and established baseline data on individual stewardship participation across Reef regions.
  • Monitoring Portal: Developed a prototype interface and Power BI dashboard to visualise and share stewardship data with the public and Reef managers.
  • Theory of Change: Produced a “recipe book” guidebook to help organisations design impactful programs that move beyond awareness to meaningful action.
  • Direct Support: Provided tailored monitoring and evaluation support to over 15 community groups to strengthen their local impact.

Status

Completed

The primary research and tool development phase of the PROTECT project was completed in December 2024. While the baseline reporting is finished, the project includes an ongoing data hosting and maintenance phase for 2025 led by QUT. This includes the moderation of user-driven data uploads to the portal and an evaluation of the tool’s utility among stakeholders to inform future long-term monitoring iterations.

Project Partners

Understanding People and Nature

Research That Makes a Difference

We explore how people connect with the environment from urban green spaces to ocean reefs, and develop strategies to promote conservation stewardship and meaningful engagement with the natural world. Through citizen science, community partnerships, and innovative communication strategies, we’re working to strengthen the connections between people and nature for lasting conservation impact.