Helping the coral reef to a full and fruitful restoration of health in the face of a warming climate and what has gone down in history as its most devastating summer of bleaching and climate impacts to date, will require not just science but the cultural and spiritual connections held by Indigenous peoples and Traditional Owners, coral restoration leaders at the Australian Institute of Marine Science have said.

It marks the launch of a new campaign to scale up coral larva restoration efforts across the Great Barrier Reef at a crucial time for coral spawning. To hit the right markers, however, scientists at the Institute have recognised the need to deeply engage with and share knowledge with Indigenous people and Traditional Owners, if the scale of the ambition is to be achieved.

In a programme that will “weave the knowledge of Australia’s Traditional Owners” with the western sciences, the Institute has since embarked on a new partnership programme that will both empower and inform Traditional Owners and members of Indigenous communities with the practical science behind coral reef management and restoration, while learning about cultural and spiritual connections to these environments in return.

“Australia’s Traditional Owners are the first scientists, farmers, engineers, innovators, and conservationists,” said Anna Marsden, Great Barrier Reef Foundation managing director. “They have successfully nurtured and protected their environment through changing seasons and climates, guided by Traditional Knowledge and customs passed down through generations.

“Weaving this knowledge with western science will help overcome key challenges to protecting our Reef – scaling reef restoration efforts.”

The partnership got kickstarted during the recent annual mass coral spawning event, when Indigenous Rangers from six Traditional Owner groups, Indigenous researchers, interns, and trainees gathered with scientists from the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) on Heron Island – the southern region of the Reef – to build skills across different restoration approaches.

The pilot training programme was part of the Indigenous Futures project, an initiative to empower Traditional Owners to lead in caring for sea Country, by ensuring they are the first to learn about new ways to best help the Reef, and to upscale these interventions on their own sea Country.

According to Jordan Ivey, AIMS’ Indigenous training and capacity building officer, partnership programmes such as this one will continue to play a critical role in reaching the scale of coral restoration required in the face of climate change.

“Traditional Owners hold important cultural and spiritual connections to Country, including sea Country on the Great Barrier Reef,” he said. 

“These connections power deep knowledge and care for the Reef, and inherent rights and responsibility for its future. It is only natural they play a key role in the delivery of the interventions AIMS scientists and their collaborators are developing across the Reef.

“Scaling up a suite of coral larval restoration approaches will be key to positive outcomes on the Reef – a system the size of Italy.”

Coral systems have been hit particularly hard in Australia over the last year, making coral spawning a crucial time on the Great Barrier Reef. Over the summer, not only did the reef systems experience serious and extensive mass coral bleaching, but took a battering from two cyclones which resulted in significant loss of coral cover in some parts of the reef most impacted.

Alongside a cohort of collaborators, AIMS coral reproduction and aquaculture scientist, Dr Muhammad Azmi Abdul Wahab was among those delivering training on Heron Island. Among the skills he was able to share, Dr Abdul Wahab divulged keen insight into the collection and rearing of coral larvae after spawning; the establishment of an island-based coral aquaculture system; and the deployment of young corals on seeding devices on the Reef.

“It’s been inspiring to share learnings and experience with these engaged and passionate Indigenous Rangers and Traditional Owners,” said Dr Abdul Wahab. “The toolbox of interventions we are working on can help the Reef, alongside reducing emissions globally. This is fundamental to securing the best future for reefs, which are threatened by climate change.’

Fundamental to the success of the initiative is the open receptiveness to two-way learning. Kelvin Rowe is a Gigarjil Ranger Coordinator and Traditional Owner of the Port Curtis Coral Coast. It’s according to Rowe that members of the AIMS group have themselves expressed a “willingness to learn from us too.” 

In doing so, AIMS researchers have been able to gain insight into the “cultural ways and means of connecting to the ocean”, said Kelvin. 

“They have been willing to learn from us, too, about our cultural ways, how we connect to the ocean, even to areaS that we now own, even for our own stories,” said Kelvin. “Many of us here are all from different places but we are all connected to one part of the Reef.”

The three-year Indigenous Futures project began in 2023 and includes formal accreditation units for participants within the Certificate III in Conservation and Ecosystem Management. It’s supported by AIMS, the Australian Government’s Reef Trust through the Reef Trust Partnership with the Great Barrier Reef Foundation and the Reef Restoration and Adaptation programme.

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