IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v17y2025i18p8131-d1745966.html

The Health of the Governance System for Australia’s Great Barrier Reef 2050 Plan: A First Benchmark

Author

Listed:
  • Karen Vella

    (School of Architecture and Built Environment, Faculty of Engineering, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD 4000, Australia)

  • Allan Patrick Dale

    (The Cairns Institute, James Cook University, Cairns, QLD 4870, Australia)

  • Diletta Calibeo

    (School of Architecture and Built Environment, Faculty of Engineering, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD 4000, Australia)

  • Mark Limb

    (School of Architecture and Built Environment, Faculty of Engineering, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD 4000, Australia)

  • Margaret Gooch

    (School of Architecture and Built Environment, Faculty of Engineering, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD 4000, Australia
    The Cairns Institute, James Cook University, Cairns, QLD 4870, Australia)

  • Rachel Eberhard

    (Eberhard Consulting, Fairfield Gardens, Brisbane, QLD 4103, Australia)

  • Hurriyet Babacan

    (The Cairns Institute, James Cook University, Cairns, QLD 4870, Australia)

  • Jennifer McHugh

    (The Cairns Institute, James Cook University, Cairns, QLD 4870, Australia)

  • Umberto Baresi

    (School of Architecture and Built Environment, Faculty of Engineering, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD 4000, Australia)

Abstract

The Reef 2050 Long-Term Sustainability Plan (Reef 2050 Plan) was crafted to protect, manage and enhance the resilience of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef (GBR). It explicitly recognises that strengthening governance is key to achieving its targeted outcomes. To date, however, the lack of evaluation of the impact of GBR governance (including many complex policies, programmes and plans) under the Reef 2050 Plan has hindered its adaption. This paper presents a first benchmark of the health of the governance system associated with the Reef 2050 Plan. A novel analytical framework was built to do this. It was populated through the gathering of multiple lines of evidence, including global theory and evaluation practice and case studies and primary data from interviews and workshops with Traditional Owners, experts across government, industry, non-government organisations and other governance systems experts. Our assessment has found the health of governance system to be emergent to maturing, yet strong by global standards. Strengths include robust global engagement, the integrative nature of the Reef 2050 Plan, crisis response systems and GBR Marine Park management. Weaknesses include the increased need for (i) power sharing with Traditional Owners; (ii) rebuilding governmental trust with the farming and fishing sectors; (iii) more contemporary spatial planning for GBR and catchment resilience; and (iv) greater subsidiarity to deliver government programmes. In conclusions, we strongly recommend that regular benchmarking and informed refinement of Reef 2050 Plan governance arrangements would mature the system toward better outcomes.

Suggested Citation

  • Karen Vella & Allan Patrick Dale & Diletta Calibeo & Mark Limb & Margaret Gooch & Rachel Eberhard & Hurriyet Babacan & Jennifer McHugh & Umberto Baresi, 2025. "The Health of the Governance System for Australia’s Great Barrier Reef 2050 Plan: A First Benchmark," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(18), pages 1-20, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:17:y:2025:i:18:p:8131-:d:1745966
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/18/8131/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/18/8131/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Hamman, Evan & Brodie, Jon & Eberhard, Rachel & Deane, Felicity & Bode, Michael, 2022. "Regulating land use in the catchment of the Great Barrier Reef," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 115(C).
    2. Matt Andrews, 2008. "The Good Governance Agenda: Beyond Indicators without Theory," Oxford Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 36(4), pages 379-407.
    3. Allan Dale & Karen Vella & Sarah Ryan & Kathleen Broderick & Rosemary Hill & Ruth Potts & Tom Brewer, 2020. "Governing Community-Based Natural Resource Management in Australia: International Implications," Land, MDPI, vol. 9(7), pages 1-17, July.
    4. Karen Vella & Allan Dale & Margaret Gooch & Diletta Calibeo & Mark Limb & Rachel Eberhard & Hurriyet Babacan & Jennifer McHugh & Umberto Baresi, 2025. "Deep Deliberation to Enhance Analysis of Complex Governance Systems: Reflecting on the Great Barrier Reef Experience," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(15), pages 1-18, July.
    5. Dani Rodrik, 2020. "Putting Global Governance in Its Place," The World Bank Research Observer, World Bank, vol. 35(1), pages 1-18.
    6. Woods, Ngaire, 2000. "The Challenge of Good Governance for the IMF and the World Bank Themselves," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 28(5), pages 823-841, May.
    7. Frank Biermann & Philipp Pattberg & Harro van Asselt & Fariborz Zelli, 2009. "The Fragmentation of Global Governance Architectures: A Framework for Analysis," Global Environmental Politics, MIT Press, vol. 9(4), pages 14-40, November.
    8. Braithwaite,John & Drahos,Peter, 2000. "Global Business Regulation," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521784993, Enero-Abr.
    9. Nor Ali Mohamed & Dayah Abdi Kulmie, 2023. "Role of Effective Monitoring and Evaluation in Promoting Good Governance in Public Institutions," Public Administration Research, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 12(2), pages 1-48, October.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Lasse Folke Henriksen & Stefano Ponte, 2018. "Public orchestration, social networks, and transnational environmental governance: Lessons from the aviation industry," Regulation & Governance, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 12(1), pages 23-45, March.
    2. Joy Kim & Suh-Yong Chung, 2012. "The role of the G20 in governing the climate change regime," International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 12(4), pages 361-374, November.
    3. Kenneth W. Abbott & Duncan Snidal, 2013. "Taking responsive regulation transnational: Strategies for international organizations," Regulation & Governance, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 7(1), pages 95-113, March.
    4. Christian Downie, 2022. "Steering global energy governance: Who governs and what do they do?," Regulation & Governance, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 16(2), pages 487-499, April.
    5. Milligan, Ben & O'Keeffe, Michelle, 2019. "Global Governance of Resources and Implications for Resource Efficiency in Europe," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 155(C), pages 46-58.
    6. Peter Cihon & Matthijs M. Maas & Luke Kemp, 2020. "Fragmentation and the Future: Investigating Architectures for International AI Governance," Global Policy, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 11(5), pages 545-556, November.
    7. Thomas Gehring & Benjamin Faude, 2014. "A theory of emerging order within institutional complexes: How competition among regulatory international institutions leads to institutional adaptation and division of labor," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 9(4), pages 471-498, December.
    8. Reinsberg,Bernhard Wilfried & Michaelowa,Katharina & Knack,Stephen, 2015. "Which donors, which funds ? the choice of multilateral funds by bilateral donors at the World Bank," Policy Research Working Paper Series 7441, The World Bank.
    9. Heike Schroeder, 2010. "Agency in international climate negotiations: the case of indigenous peoples and avoided deforestation," International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 10(4), pages 317-332, December.
    10. David Monciardini & Guido Conaldi, 2019. "The European regulation of corporate social responsibility: The role of beneficiaries' intermediaries," Regulation & Governance, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 13(2), pages 240-259, June.
    11. Daniel Fitzpatrick & Rebecca Monson, 2022. "Property rights and climate migration: Adaptive governance in the South Pacific," Regulation & Governance, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 16(2), pages 519-535, April.
    12. Andreas Panagopoulos, 2004. "When Does Patent Protection Stimulate Innovation?," Bristol Economics Discussion Papers 04/565, School of Economics, University of Bristol, UK.
    13. Anna Hutchens, 2011. "Playing games of governance: How and why Fair Trade pioneers evade corporate capture," Regulation & Governance, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 5(2), pages 221-240, June.
    14. Simon Hartmann & Thomas Lindner & Jakob Müllner & Jonas Puck, 2022. "Beyond the nation-state: Anchoring supranational institutions in international business research," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 53(6), pages 1282-1306, August.
    15. Ali Burak Güven, 2012. "The IMF, the World Bank, and the Global Economic Crisis: Exploring Paradigm Continuity," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 43(4), pages 869-898, July.
    16. Mennicken, Andrea, 2006. "Translation and standardisation: audit world building in Post-Soviet Russia," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 3033, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    17. Philipp Pattberg, 2017. "The emergence of carbon disclosure: Exploring the role of governance entrepreneurs," Environment and Planning C, , vol. 35(8), pages 1437-1455, December.
    18. Marie-Laure Salles-Djelic & Sigrid Quack, 2004. "Governing Globalization – Bringing Institutions Back In," Post-Print hal-01892007, HAL.
    19. Mette Eilstrup-Sangiovanni, 2022. "Ordering global governance complexes: The evolution of the governance complex for international civil aviation," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 17(2), pages 293-322, April.
    20. Philip James & Lilian Miles & Richard Croucher & Mark Houssart, 2019. "Regulating factory safety in the Bangladeshi garment industry," Regulation & Governance, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 13(3), pages 431-444, September.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:17:y:2025:i:18:p:8131-:d:1745966. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.