ABSTRACT
The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park (GBRMP) of Australia is an iconic marine park that may well provide the best example of large-scale ocean zoning in existence today. Located off the eastern Australian coast and paralleling the coastline of the state of Queensland, the GBRMP spans 344,400km2 and runs over 2000km in length (see Colour Plate 4.1). When it was established in 1975, it had the distinction of being the largest marine protected area in the world (until several recent MPA designations usurped its status). The zoning schemes and associated management approaches used within this multiple-use park are often held up as the best example of the integration of management using ocean zoning. However, the GBRMP's large size undeniably creates challenges for park-wide operational management; for this reason, the GBRMP was initially divided into three sections that each had the capacity to manage or regulate impacts through zoning plans. The Great Barrier Reef Zoning Plan, showing General Use zones in light blue, Habitat Protection Zones in darker blue, Conservation Park Zones in yellow, Buffer Zones in olive, Scientific Research Zones in orange, Marine Park zones in green and Preservation Zones in pink (see Table 4.2 for details) https://s3-euw1-ap-pe-df-pch-content-public-p.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/9781849776462/07f8e061-e96f-4a5c-b194-16d819a32c4b/content/plate4-1_C.jpg" xmlns:xlink="https://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"/> Source: GBRMPA (2009)
