Designing a Network of Coral Reef Marine Protected Areas in Hainan Island,South China

Overexploitation of reef resources and increasing coastal tourism have severely damaged the health of coral reef ecosystems around Hainan Island, South China. Only some reef sites are protected, and the effectiveness of the marine protected areas (MPA) appears inadequate. Networks of MPAs have been widely proposed as a more effective tool for reef conservation. However, little is known about the overall state of the island's coral reefs, and no guidelines exist for MPA network building in China. In this study, the information currently available on the distribution and condition of Hainan's coral reefs is comprehensively used to assess reef status, and to identify other reef areas prior to protection. An MPA network around the island is proposed in terms of monitoring, legal, and management aspects to improve the conservation effectiveness. This could also serve as a model for developing MPA networks for other coastal areas with respect to coral reef conservation.     

Economic Valuation of Coastal and Marine Resources: Bohol Marine Triangle,Philippines

This article provides results on the net benefits generated from the natural resources in the Bohol Marine Triangle (BMT) in the Philippines. The BMT spans over 112,000 ha and its coastal ecosystems are rich in biodiversity and provide economic opportunities to the coastal communities. With a 10% discount rate, the accumulated total net benefits for the BMT resources over a 10-year period is US$11.54 million. Tourism and the municipal fisheries are the most important direct use values of the coastal and marine resources of the BMT accounting for 44% and 39% of the total net benefits. Annual revenues attributed to ecosystems were as follows: coral reefs, US$1.26 million; beach/intertidal area, US$1.12 million; marine waters, US$646,501; mangrove, US$239,561; and seagrass, US$105,990. The large market values indicate the dependence of the local community on the BMT coastal and marine resources. In the same way, non-market values show the important life-support functions of coastal and marine ecosystems. The net benefits reflect the magnitude of potential losses due to improper management of coastal and marine resources in the BMT. This valuation highlights the importance of the coastal services to the BMT economy and draws attention to the benefits the local stakeholders derive from BMT coastal resources. Policy measures can now take into account these values to justify a sufficient investment in coastal management efforts to sustain the flow of coastal services in the interest of current and future generations.     

Abrolhos 2000 : Conserving the Southern Atlantic's Richest Coastal Biodiversity into the Next Century

The Abrolhos bank, an area of continental shelf off the coast of Bahia, Brazil, has the most biologically diverse coral reefs in the entire southern Atlantic Ocean. The coral reefs and nearby coastal ecosystems constitute a global conservation priority and are the target of the Abrolhos 2000 project, initiated by Conservation International as part of its global marine conservation strategy. Although portions of the Abrolhos reefs are located within a marine park, they are not afforded adequate protection due to insufficient conservation resources and a failure to be part of a broader integrated coastal management program. Through partnerships with government agencies, nongovernmental organizations, local communities, the private sector, and other stakeholders, Abrolhos 2000 is working to provide these needs while establishing local capacity for conserving coastal and marine ecosystems. The project's initial successes provide examples of useful strategies for making integrated coastal management work in the context of emerging economies.     

The Reimplementation of the Ra'ui: Coral Reef Management in Rarotonga,Cook Islands

This research focuses on coral reef health in the South Pacific region, an area of high global coral diversity. Coral reef health surrounding two study sites in Rarotonga, Cook Islands, has been assessed in areas that have not been previously surveyed. Each study site has distinct differences based upon marine management practices. Marine management practices are identified and described and some historical reasons as why they exist are discussed. Data are also presented on the ecological condition (coral coverage, number of coral species, clonal condition, disease, and presence and absence of bioindicators). This interdisciplinary research methodology includes both ecological and social data collection to further understand human- environment interactions. In comparing the reefs with different management practices, I argue that the implementation of traditional marine social institutions as exemplified in this case study of the Ra'ui in Rarotonga, Cook Islands, is an effective conservation management tool and is improving coral reef health. The Ra'ui site has significantly higher species diversity/Mortality Index ( F = 2.63).     

Public law litigation and marine affairs: The boldt decision

Abstract

The management and conservation of the marine environment and its natural resources are increasingly understood to be issues of public policy with consequences for society at large. On a variety of dramatic occasions over the last decades, the federal judiciary has departed from its traditionally passive role in the shaping of social policy. This paper examines a critical marine controversy, the Boldt Decision (U.S. v. Washington 1974), to illustrate and evaluate nontraditional judicial behavior. The first two sections introduce Indian‐United States treaties concerning Pacific Northwest salmon resources, and the unfolding of the Boldt Decision. A third section argues that a “public law”; model of litigation fits the legal events of the Boldt Decision. A fourth section addresses the competence of the Boldt court as it is manifest in judicial organization, analysis, and implementation. A final section comments on the potential for public law litigation elsewhere in the governing of marine affairs.     

Gender Issues within the Population-Environment Nexus in Philippine Coastal Areas

Sixty percent of the Philippine's population resides in the coastal zone. Women and men in coastal communities depend chiefly on the sea for subsistence. Over fifty percent of the dietary protein requirements of coastal communities are derived from municipal fisheries and shallow coastal habitats (reef fishes, marine plants, and mangroves). Coastal populations are young and expanding at rates that exceed regional and national averages. Expanding human pressures and man-made disturbances (over harvesting, destructive fishing, siltation, etc.) that offset natural processes are destroying habitats and creating protein food security crises and increasing malnutrition. At the same time conflicts among users of coastal resources are escalating. Access constraints, gender inequities, and cultural barriers stymie options for women and men to plan their families and create alternative livelihoods. National and local government agencies are addressing food security concerns through vertical policies and programs (e.g., fisheries management, integrated coastal management). The IPOPCORM project uses a cross-sectoral approach and quasi-experimental evaluation design to test the hypothesis that food security will be achieved more quickly when coastal resources management (CRM) and reproductive health (RH) management are implemented together. The purpose of this article is to review the project's experience and highlight the trends observed in program monitoring and evaluation during 2001–2004, which suggest better impact on RH, CRM, and gender indicators in the sites where the synergistic approach is being applied.     

Management of corals and coral ecosystems in the United States

Abstract

Corals and coral communities provide substantial societal benefits by virtue of their recreational and esthetic appeal, the habitat provided for commercially harvested fish and shellfish, the structural foundation provided for productive coastal ecosystems, and the market value of harvested coral specimens. Coral resources are subject to adverse effects from pollution, dredging, specimen collecting, anchor damage, commercial fishing, overharvesting, and activities related to offshore petroleum development. Management programs which protect coral resources in the United States comprise a patchwork of separate federal and state programs. They attempt to adapt broad regulatory authorities for parks, fisheries, offshore mineral resources, and other subjects for the purpose of coral conservation. These programs embody species‐specific, area‐specific, and generic approaches to coral management. This paper traces the evolution of U.S. coral management programs and comments on their respective strengths and weaknesses. Alternative approaches for strengthening management systems could include new coordinating committees, legislation, memoranda of agreement between involved agencies, and others.     

Successful Transplantation of a Fragmenting Coral,Montipora digitata,for Reef Rehabilitation

The scleractinian coral Montipora digitata (Acroporidae) is a common reef flat species that thrives under high levels of light and water turbulence, and propagates successfully by natural fragmentation. It was used for transplantation experiments in an attempt to restore a degraded lagoon environment in the northwestern Philippines. Branches about 5 cm high from a natural population in the lagoon were transplanted to dead coral outcrops or knolls in two locations (Binlab and Malilnep-Ac) with different environmental characteristics. Growth and survival were significantly better at Malilnep Ac, which resembled the natural habitat of the species more closely. Environmental conditions at this site also favored the establishment of a greater diversity of species around the coral transplants. There was no difference in performance between transplants on vertical and horizontal surfaces, and the transplants showed limited differences due to density within the experimental range. Significant survival of detached, transplanted colonies or fragments thereof around the bases of the experimental bommies at the more successful site was an additional positive outcome. Water motion showed significant effects on survival and growth, possibly enhancing the suitability of the more successful site for transplantation. These results demonstrate the potential of coral transplantation to initiate the establishment of natural communities in degraded reef areas, a concern for coastal managers in developing countries.     

Effects of Human Activities on the World's Most Vulnerable Coral Reefs: Comoros Case Study

Effective management of highly biodiverse and threatened reefs requires the identification of human activities driving declines on the particular reef to be managed. The island nation of the Comoros is a model setting to investigate effects of human activities on diverse and threatened coral reefs, with abundant and diverse marine life, local dependence on reef resources, and a variety of anthropogenic pressures on reefs rendering the nation vulnerable to coral reef degradation. Using data from 21 sites throughout the Comoros, we evaluated the relative influence of human activities and other natural and anthropogenic factors on benthic cover and fish richness, abundance, and biomass with the goal of providing prioritized management targets. Human activities including fishing, beach sand extraction, and beachfront housing and development had the strongest relationship with degraded reefs but with some seasonal fluctuation, while geographic patterns most consistently predicted reef degradation across seasons. Comparing analyses conducted with and without human activities as predictors, the inclusion of human activities greatly improved explanatory power. Baseline data on reef biotic composition and localized anthropogenic impacts, monitoring over time, and controlled experiments can facilitate an adaptive management approach for protecting fragile reef ecosystems in the Comoros and elsewhere.     

The Necessity of Establishing a Regional Marine Research Program for the U.S. West Coast

The welfare of the marine environment of the U.S. West Coast of California, Oregon, and Washington is hindered by insufficient understanding of ecosystem dynamics and human pressures. Greater coordination, integration, and support of mutually identified research priorities across research organizations on the West Coast are necessary. This level of collaboration is essential to responding to regional ecosystem threats, such as the impacts of human occupation of coastal areas, over-harvesting of marine resources, and climate change. To address this need for collaboration and build on the accomplishments of existing research organizations, this article advocates the establishment of a West Coast regional marine research program (RMRP).     

SCUBA Diver Specialization and Behavior Norms at Coral Reefs

SCUBA diving is an increasingly popular activity that provides a number of benefits to coastal communities. However, the sustainability of recreational diving on coral reefs is largely dependent on the health of reef ecosystems. Divers can minimize their impacts to coral reefs through responsible diving behaviors, which are in part guided by social norms. The behavioral obligation and sanction components of twelve diving behaviors were determined for Florida Keys divers throughout the course of a year. Recognizing that recreationists are not homogenous, these norms were compared according to diver specialization level. Specialized divers felt a stronger obligation not to touch corals and to pick up garbage from the sea floor than did less specialized divers. Specialized divers also reported they would feel greater embarrassment for losing buoyancy control, touching corals, taking pieces of dead corals, or touching marine mammals. The findings point to a connection between specialization level and social norms, and a relationship to ensuring continued reef health.     

The Role of Universities in Supporting Integrated Coastal Management in the United Kingdom

Integrated coastal management has been seen as the way to deal with the challenges currently facing managers of our coastal zones. In the tropics, these areas are typified with resources such as coral reefs and mangroves that are able to support a variety of activities. Integrated coastal management takes a multi-disciplinary approach that involves the integration of the different institutions and stakeholder groups in the coastal zone. A survey of tropical coastal locations revealed that fully implemented integrated coastal management is limited with programs apparently failing at the implementation stage. These coastal zones share a number of common challenges exacerbated by poverty and conflicts between the coastal activities. Conflict management needs to be incorporated into the management process that pays particular attention to the overextraction of resources and destructive resource use.     

Arctic shipping scenarios and coastal state challenges

The Arctic Council, an intergovernmental forum of the eight Arctic states, is currently embarked on a comprehensive assessment of Arctic marine activity in the 21^st century — the Arctic Marine Shipping Assessment (AMSA). One of the challenges for theAMSA study team has been to identify the major uncertainties that will be central to shaping the future of Arctic marine use in 2020 and 2050. Using scenario planning, AMSA has identified two primary drivers and uncertainties: (A) Resources and trade; and, (B) Governance. Four scenario narratives have been developed with these two, key uncertainties as the framework elements. The main arguments focus on the fact the Arctic has experienced globalization early in the century and that the global maritime industry has already ventured into the Arctic Ocean. Marine access in the Arctic Ocean is also changing in unprecedented ways and the extraordinary transformation Arctic sea ice is undergoing — thinning, extent reduction, and a reduction in the area of multiyear ice in the central ocean — has significant implications for longer seasons of navigation. However, the high prices of global commodities such as oil, gas, and hard minerals (for example, copper, nickel and zinc) have generated high levels of demand for Arctic natural resources. The Arctic states are challenged by an overall lack of maritime infrastructure to adequately support current and future levels of Arctic marine operations; ports, communications, environmental monitoring, search & rescue, incident response, aids to navigation, and coastal charting, to name a few, require substantial and timely investment by the coastal states and marine operators. A second challenge is the ongoing development of an integrated system of rules and regulations governing Arctic navigation that will enhance marine safety and ensure marine environmental protection throughout the basin. These challenges will require historic levels of cooperation among the Arctic states and broad engagement with the many, non-Arctic stakeholders and actors within the global maritime industry.     

Ocean Citizenship: An Emergent Geographical Concept

Ocean citizenship describes a relationship between our everyday lives and the health of the coastal and marine environment. Through our everyday lives we affect, and are affected by, the marine and coastal environment in numerous ways. As such, individuals have a responsibility to make informed lifestyle choices to minimize this impact. In doing so, the actions of individuals can contribute to the amelioration of large-scale and seemingly insurmountable geographical problems. This article outlines the concept of ocean citizenship within the context of the public understanding of marine environmental issues. The article draws heavily on the experience of the National Maritime Museum as an important contributor to the development of ocean citizenship in the United Kingdom. Specifically, the Planet Ocean initiative will be examined, in which the Museum has adopted a multimodal approach to public engagement through exhibitions, educational resources, and specific research publications. The article concludes by highlighting the importance of geography in the development and sustainability of ocean citizenship.     

Warming Seas in the Coral Triangle: Coral Reef Vulnerability and Management Implications

The highest diversity coral reefs in the world, located in the Coral Triangle, are threatened by a variety of local stresses including pollution, overfishing, and destructive fishing in addition to climate change impacts, such as increasing sea surface temperatures (SSTs), and ocean acidification. As climate change impacts increase, coral reef vulnerability at the ecoregional scale will have an increasingly important influence on conservation management decisions. This project provides the first detailed assessment of past and future climatic stress, thermal variability, and anthropogenic impacts in the Coral Triangle at the ecoregional level, thus incorporating both local (e.g., pollution, development, and overfishing) and global threats (increasing SSTs). The development of marine protected area (MPA) networks across the Coral Triangle is critical for the region to address these threats. Specific management recommendations are defined for MPA networks based on the levels of vulnerability to thermal and local stress. For example, coral reef regions with potentially low vulnerability to thermal stress may be priorities for establishment of MPA networks, whereas high vulnerability regions may require selection and design principles aimed at building resilience to climate change. The identification of climate and other human threats to coral reef systems and ecoregions can help conservation practitioners prioritize management responses to address these threats and identify gaps in MPA networks or other management mechanisms (e.g., integrated coastal management).     

Examining Residents’ Proximity,Recreational Use,and Perceptions Regarding Proposed Aquaculture Development

Competing interests related to marine resources have the potential to create conflict in the coastal zone. In many parts of the world marine farms exist in close proximity to areas that support recreation and tourism. The purpose of this study was to examine residents’ perceptions of proposed marine farm development related to their proximity to, and recreational use of, a coastal area in New Zealand. Residents from two areas were surveyed about their recreational use of the region and about perceptions related to marine farm development. Results indicated that those living closest to proposed marine farms used the area more often and in different ways, were most sensitive to marine farm development, and were less positive in their evaluations of marine farms, despite agreeing that marine farms can have positive economic consequences for nearby communities. Implications for using stakeholder input for the planning and management of marine farms are discussed.     

In Political Seas: Engaging with Political Ecology in the Ocean and Coastal Environment

The world’s oceans and coasts are awash in a sea of politics. The marine environment is increasingly busy, changing, and a site of degradation, marginalization, injustice, contestation and conflict over declining resources and occupied spaces at local to global scales. Themes of political ecology, such as power and politics, narratives and knowledge, scale and history, environmental justice and equity, are thus salient issues to understand in ocean and coastal governance and management. This subject review examines research on these themes of political ecology in the ocean and coastal environment and reflects on how the insights gained might be applied to governance and management. Political ecology provides important insights into: the influence of power in ocean management and governance processes; the manner in which narratives, knowledge, and scale are used to legitimize and shape policies and management efforts; the effects of historical trajectories on present circumstances, options, and practices; and the nature of inequities and environmental injustices that can occur in the marine environment. Moreover, ocean and coastal researchers, practitioners, and decision makers ought to engage with the political processes and injustices occurring in the ocean. Moving from critical insights to constructive engagements will ensure that political ecology helps to plant seeds of hope in the Anthropocene ocean.     

Building Philippine Local Government Capacity for Coastal Resource Management

The responsibility for managing coral reefs and other coastal resources was largely devolved to coastal municipalities and cities in the Philippines in 1991 with the passage of the Local Government Code. Devolution of powers and responsibilities to local government has paved the way for mainstreaming coastal resource management at the local level. However, the capacity to carry out this mandate has only recently begun to mature as municipalities and cities gain an increased awareness of the importance of coastal resources to communities and economic development. Approaches and strategies to increase local government capacity for coastal resource management are described based on the experiences of the Coastal Resource Management Project of the United States Agency for International Development. Qualitative and quantitative data are used to illustrate the possible impact of these capacity building efforts and to describe the current capacity of local government to undertake coastal resource management. After five years of project implementation, coastal municipalities have increased technical capacity, have allotted financial resources, and have achieved key performance benchmarks in the delivery of coastal resource management as a basic service.     

Public Perception of Ocean Governance and Marine Resources Management in Taiwan

Understanding public perception of the oceans, and relationship between society and the sea is an important key to the sustainable management of marine resources. This research reports the first population-based survey on Taiwanese public knowledge, attitudes, and actions on marine-related issues. The stratified random sampling by county was completed with 1,120 telephone respondents from October to December 2010. More than 60% of the respondents have heard about global warming, sea-level rising, the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, the coral reef bleaching crisis, and Japan whaling fisheries. However, less than 20% of the respondents are aware of Taiwanese domestic marine policies, such as the Ocean White Paper. On resources conservation, 74.7% of the respondents support the bluefin tuna catches regulations and 76.6% agree that the shark fin fisheries will impact shark resources. Education and age are the major affecting variables for resource conservation and knowledge. Higher education and age 40–49 are most supportive of conservation measures. For marine recreational activities, 42.2% of the respondents can swim, and 44.2% of the respondents had not visited the beach in the previous year. The results suggest that the government could establish a specialized agency to strengthen its marine policy and take more actions to protect ocean environment and conserve marine resources. To encourage more Taiwanese to participate in ocean recreational activities, the government could build a safe facility for marine recreation, cooperate with the private sectors in education, and provide outreach to raise public awareness of the oceans.     

Heterogeneous archaeal communities in the particle-rich environment of an arctic shelf ecosystem

We evaluated the phylogenetic diversity of particle-associated and free-living archaeal assemblages from the Mackenzie River and Beaufort Sea in the western Canadian Arctic. The physico-chemical characteristics of the water separated the sampling sites into three groups: riverine, coastal and marine water, which had strikingly different archaeal communities. The riverine water was characterised by the presence of Euryarchaeota mainly belonging to the LDS and RC-V clusters. The coastal water was also dominated by Euryarchaeota but they were mostly affiliated to Group II.a. The marine waters contained most exclusively Crenarchaeota belonging to the Marine Group I.1a. The results suggest that Euryarchaeota in the coastal surface layer are associated with particle-rich waters, while Crenarchaeota are more characteristic of Arctic Ocean waters that have been less influenced by riverine inputs. The particle-associated communities were similar to the free-living ones at the riverine and marine sites but differed from each other at the coastal site in terms of the presence or absence of some taxonomic groups in one of the fractions, or differences in the proportion of the phylogenetic groups. However, there was no specific archaeal group that was exclusively restricted to the free-living or particle fraction, and the diversity of the particle-associated archaeal assemblages did not significantly differ from the diversity of the free-living communities.