Resilience-Based Management (RBM)

Due to projections of increasing climate impacts, recurring mass coral bleaching events, and widespread degradation of coral reefs around the globe, there has been a shift towards management approaches that support the resilience of coral reefs and the people and local economies that depend on them. Resilience-based management (RBM) is a management approach that uses knowledge of current and future drivers influencing ecosystem functions to prioritize, implement, and adapt management actions that sustain ecosystems and human well-being. ​

This section describes:

• An overview of RBM and how it differs from other forms of management
• Reasons and considerations for conducting RBM
• Specific recommendations for how to conduct RBM
• Key principles of managing reefs adaptively for climate change
• Examples of how RBM is currently being practiced
• The Resilient Reefs Initiative and steps in developing a resilience strategy
• Examples of other integrated management approaches

Acropora coral and blue green chromis on Ningaloo Reef in Western Australia. Photo © Steve Lindfield

This content was developed in collaboration with the following organizations: Resilient Reefs Initiative, Great Barrier Reef Foundation, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Coral Reef Conservation Program, and International Coral Reef Initiative.