The Reef Restoration and Adaptation Program (RRAP) is a global leader in coral reef restoration and adaptation.
The Program brings together Australian and international experts to create and pilot an innovative suite of solutions to help the Great Barrier Reef, and coral reefs around the world, resist, adapt to, and recover from the impacts of climate change.
The need for reef restoration and adaptation has never been greater. As climate change continues to impact coral reefs globally, RRAP’s knowledge and insights provide a foundation for continued innovation, testing and deployment of solutions to support reef resilience.
In 2020, a consortium of partners established an Unincorporated Joint Venture (UJV) to deliver an integrated R&D program focused on addressing critical knowledge gaps and overcoming the scientific, engineering and operational challenges of large-scale reef restoration and adaptation.
Partners included the Australian Institute of Marine Science, CSIRO, the Great Barrier Reef Foundation, the University of Queensland, QUT, Southern Cross University and James Cook University. This phase was funded by the partnership between the Australian Government’s Reef Trust and the Great Barrier Reef Foundation, with co-investment from RRAP partners as well as corporate and individual philanthropy.
The RRAP UJV has completed its first phase of research and development and formally concluded on 30 June 2026. In just five years, the Program generated more progress in reef restoration and adaptation science than the previous fifteen, delivering a toolbox of novel interventions, world-leading monitoring and modelling capabilities, a best-in-class risk and governance framework, and over 250 peer-reviewed publications. Throughout, RRAP has worked in genuine partnership with Traditional Owners, recognising Sea Country as both a cultural landscape and a biophysical system.
While the UJV closes, the mission continues. RRAP-developed interventions are now being tested at scale through the Pilot Deployments Program, led by AIMS and funded to 2029, with a further $30 million commitment to progress reef restoration and adaptation by the Australian Government in its latest budget.
Continued research is critical to achieving the target efficacy and cost-efficiency needed to make these adaptation interventions both viable and affordable at the scales required. The RRAP website will remain active as an open repository, providing access to the program’s publications, data, technical guidelines, and protocols for the benefit of the global reef community.
