Turning a lost reef ecosystem into a national restoration program.
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(Published version)
Date
2022
Authors
Mcafee, D.
McLeod, I.M.
Alleway, H.K.
Bishop, M.J.
Branigan, S.
Connell, S.D.
Copeland, C.
Crawford, C.M.
Diggles, B.K.
Fitzsimons, J.A.
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Journal article
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Conservation Biology, 2022; 36(6):e138958-1-e138958-10
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Dominic McAfee, Ian M. McLeod, Heidi K. Alleway, Melanie J. Bishop, Simon Branigan, Sean D. Connell, Craig Copeland, Christine M. Crawford, Ben K. Diggles, James A. Fitzsimons, Ben L. Gilby, Paul Hamer, Boze Hancock, Robert Pearce, Kylie Russell, Chris L. Gillies
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Abstract
Achieving a sustainable socioecological future now requires large-scale environmental repair across legislative borders. Yet, enabling large-scale conservation is complicated by policy-making processes that are disconnected from socioeconomic interests, multiple sources of knowledge, and differing applications of policy. We considered how a multidisciplinary approach to marine habitat restoration generated the scientific evidence base, community support, and funding needed to begin the restoration of a forgotten, functionally extinct shellfish reef ecosystem. The key actors came together as a multidisciplinary community of researchers, conservation practitioners, recreational fisher communities, and government bodies that collaborated across sectors to rediscover Australia’s lost shellfish reefs and communicate the value of its restoration. Actions undertaken to build a case for large-scale marine restoration included synthesizing current knowledge on Australian shellfish reefs and their historical decline, using this history to tell a compelling story to spark public and political interest, integrating restoration into government policy, and rallying local support through community engagement. Clearly articulating the social, economic, and environmental business case for restoration led to state and national fund-ing for reef restoration to meet diverse sustainability goals (e.g., enhanced biodiversity and fisheries productivity) and socioeconomic goals (e.g., job creation and recreational opportunities). A key lesson learned was the importance of aligning project goals with public and industry interests so that projects could address multiple political obligations. This process culminated in Australia’s largest marine restoration initiative and shows that solutions for large-scale ecosystem repair can rapidly occur when socially valued science acts on political opportunities.
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© 2022 The Authors. Conservation Biology published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Society for Conservation Biology. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.