Protected places

Australia’s extensive network of marine and coastal protected places includes Australian Marine Parks, Ramsar sites, World Heritage Areas, the National Reserve System and Indigenous Protected Areas. Scientific understanding and collaboration are needed to continually improve the care and management of these unique and valuable places. Managers such as Traditional Owner groups, national and state and regional agencies also need research strategies that align with environmental, economic, social and cultural goals. The hub is engaging research-users, knowledge brokers and Indigenous facilitators to better coordinate research for protected places. Priorities are to consolidate and expand regional knowledge of coastal biodiversity and ecosystems, define standard research and monitoring approaches, and develop tools to evaluate management success