Resilience-Based Management (RBM)

Due to recent mass coral bleaching events, projections of increasing climate impacts, 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, or RBM, is a management approach that uses knowledge of current and future drivers influencing ecosystem function 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
• Examples of how RBM is currently being practiced
• 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: Great Barrier Reef Foundation, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Coral Reef Conservation Program, Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, International Coral Reef Initiative, United Nations Environment Program, and the University of Queensland.