Abstract :
The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA) is establishing a monitoring program in the 345,000 sq. km. Great Barrier Reef Marine Park. The program is broadly designed to test the effectiveness and the biological, social and economic effects of the zoning (management) plans which regulate the multiplicity of uses of the Park to ensure conservation of the Reef, and to evaluate the "health" of the Reef. The decisions as to what measurements should actually be made are being reached through a systematic approach based on a series of matrices, which progress from the broad non-specific objectives of the entire monitoring program to specification of individual elements requiring measurement and, where it is known, the methods for undertaking these measurements. Decisions on the scope of the program (i.e. priorities), location and frequency of measurement are made subsequently, depending on resources available.This approach also identifies where techniques require development. Although the approach is time consuming, it ensures systematic coverage and subsequent identification of priorities.
