Uploaded June 2026 | Updated September 2026, 4 hours ago
In 2018, we set out with an ambitious goal: to help some of the world’s most treasured coral reefs, and the communities that depend on them, adapt to the accelerating impacts of climate change. Partnering with four UNESCO World Heritage sites — Belize Barrier Reef, Lagoons of New Caledonia, Rock Islands Southern Lagoon of Palau and the Ningaloo Coast — we brought together local communities, reef managers and global resilience experts to pioneer a people-centred approach to reef resilience through the Resilient Reefs Initiative.
Over the past eight years, each site has developed and delivered a locally led Resilience Strategy, translating global science into place-based action that reflected community priorities. These successes catalysed an additional $15 million for expansion to Pacific sites.
As the eight-year initiative concludes, it paves the way for the next phase of the program: Resilient Reefs Pasifika.
Learn more about the Resilient Reefs Initiative here: barrierreef.org/what-we-do/projects/resilient-reefs
The Resilient Reefs Initative is a collaboration between the Great Barrier Reef Foundation, UNESCO, The Nature Conservancy’s Reef Resilience Network, Columbia University’s Center for Resilient Cities and Landscapes, Resilient Cities Catalyst and AECOM. The project is enabled by the BHP Foundation.
In 2018, we set out with an ambitious goal: to help some of the world’s most treasured coral reefs, and the communities that depend on them, adapt to the accelerating impacts of climate change. Partnering with four UNESCO World Heritage sites — Belize Barrier Reef, Lagoons of New Caledonia, Rock Islands Southern Lagoon of Palau and the Ningaloo Coast — we brought together local communities, reef managers and global resilience experts to pioneer a people-centred approach to reef resilience through the Resilient Reefs Initiative.
Over the past eight years, each site has developed and delivered a locally led Resilience Strategy, translating global science into place-based action that reflected community priorities. These successes catalysed an additional $15 million for expansion to Pacific sites.
As the eight-year initiative concludes, it paves the way for the next phase of the program: Resilient Reefs Pasifika.
Learn more about the Resilient Reefs Initiative here: barrierreef.org/what-we-do/projects/resilient-reefs
The Resilient Reefs Initative is a collaboration between the Great Barrier Reef Foundation, UNESCO, The Nature Conservancy’s Reef Resilience Network, Columbia University’s Center for Resilient Cities and Landscapes, Resilient Cities Catalyst and AECOM. The project is enabled by the BHP Foundation.
