The concept of integrated coastal area management as it relates to tourism growth, industrial development, native title claims, expansion of the fishing and sugarcane farming industries, and the decline in water quality in coastal marine environments due to catchment changes is becoming increasingly important--socially, economically, and politically. This study explores these issues and others in the context of the early development of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park in 1975 and the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area in 1981, including the evolution of the current management system from a terrestrial, spatial, area-based management model to an ecosystem, bioregional model.