Reef Guardian Council

Proud to be a part of the Reef Guardian Council program

The Reef Guardian Council program is a partnership between local government and the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (Reef Authority) which recognises that local and regional approaches are central to protecting and managing the Reef and the communities it supports.

Local governments are key management partners as many of the threats to the Reef and heritage values arise outside of the Marine Park boundaries and the Reef Authority’s jurisdiction.

The program includes 20 participating councils between Bundaberg and Cooktown, covering an area of 317 000 square kilometres and a population of more than 1.1 million people. Each council progresses a Reef Guardian Action Plan that outlines a variety of initiatives they are taking to contribute to Reef health and align with the Queensland and Australian Government objectives to improve the long-term outlook for the Reef, particularly the Reef 2050 Long-Term Sustainability Plan.

Protecting the Reef starts by protecting our patch

Cairns Regional Council undertakes a wide range of initiatives that help address the key threats to the Reef including:

• Limiting the impacts of climate change
• Reducing the impacts from land-based activities
• Protecting, rehabilitating and restoring habitats
• Reducing impacts from water-based activities
• Conserving historic and cultural heritage

Want to learn more – take a look at our Reef Guardian Council Action Plan ( PDF, 34.44 MB )

Related Information

• Learn about our local catchments
• Learn about the Great Barrier Reef
• Learn about threats to the Reef
• Reef Guardian Council Climate Change Snapshot
• Reef 2050 Plan
• GBR Outlook Report 2024
• Map showing participating Councils ( JPG, 0.95 MB )