Signs of Change
67
With this existing knowledge, powerful facts have
emerged. A broad swathe of "experts'", including social
scientists, ecologists, lawyers and economists, hold various
parts of the same message. Coral reefs are an incredibly
valuable resource, they can be utilized sustainably, and
such utilization can bring immediate economic and social
benefits. There are no examples whatsoever which show
the contrary. Non-sustainable use of coral reefs, or blind
degradation by remote actions such as deforestation, poor
agriculture and pollution, never pays. The social and
economic consequences are bad in the short term, and
terrible in the longer term.
If these facts could be clearly and accurately transmitted to a global public many of the problems would be
immediately diminished, but the transmission of knowledge is slow, and too often the managers and decision
makers, let alone the wider public, are unaware of these
valuable facts. There remains an urgent need for education
in all quarters to ensure that the lessons being learned by
the experts are rapidly passed on to all people who have an
interest in, or an impact upon, the future of coral reefs -
from fishers to schoolchildren to government members
and city dwellers.
The problem of a lack of ownership and responsibility for coral reefs is a greater challenge. Lying offshore,
reefs in almost every country of the world are seen as a
common resource, available to anyone. Unfortunately, as
populations have boomed and traditional understanding
of coral reef utilization has been rapidly lost in many
areas, so this common access has led to a "tragedy of the
commons": too many people trying to exploit a shared
resource. There is no incentive for fishers to reduce their
catch if all others will not do the same. As the number of
fishers increases and fishing methods become more
efficient, so the pressures on reefs become unsustainable.
Open access and common ownership becomes a freefor-all, as people try to grab as much as possible before
anyone else does.
The lack of ownership at a community level also typically means that there are few concerted efforts by those
using the reefs to control external factors impinging on
"their" resources. In terrestrial ecosystems it is unthinkable
that another individual, company or community should be
allowed to dump raw sewage or industrial waste onto a
neighbor's grazing land, or to smother it with sediments,
preventing the growth of new grass. This is precisely what is
happening to coral reefs, but because they are a common
resource, and because they lie below the water surface,
invisible to the wider public, little or nothing is done.
There are thus a number of key responses to address the
problems facing reefs. Study and research into ecological
functions, human interactions and management techniques
must continue. At the same time the transference of existing
knowledge must be a priority. Finally, to deal directly with
the real problems facing reefs on the groimd there must be
management interventions to reconcile the issues of protecting a common resource. The remainder of this chapter
looks at a number of the management interventions now
being widely put into practice.
In many countries active reef management is not new.
Many of the lessons now being learned have, in fact, been
known and put into practice in traditional societies
adjacent to reefs for centuries or millennia, and some
of these continue to be the most effective means of
protecting coral reefs to the present day. For most
countries, however, new management regimes have to
be developed from scratch. Complex negotiations with a
broad multiplicity of reef users and adjacent communities
are a major part of designing systems to protect coral
reefs, and to enable their continued existence and
continued contribution to human society. Measures
include controls on fishing activities or fishing methods,
wider controls on human activities, and the partitioning
of the reefs themselves, establishing protected areas or
more complex systems across entire coastal zones. Such
measures, effectively applied and with community
support, are already being seen to have spectacular results,
reversing declines and providing a considerable support
to coastal communities. In most places, however, the
challenges are still enormous, and it remains to be seen
how much more will be brought back from the brink
amidst the spiralling challenges of population growth
and climate change.
Traditional management
Humans have used reefs as a source of food for millennia.
As this has become more intensive so systems of control
have developed, including cultural controls, taboos, patterns of reef ownership, closed seasons and restrictions on
types of fishing gear. The best examples, some of which
still exist, are to be found in the Pacific islands.
Perhaps the most widespread and often highly
effective form of reef management is customary tenure,
where reefs, or the reef fish and other resources, are the
property of particular communities. The consequences of
such ownership are considerable, especially in cohesive,
traditional communities. Under restricted ownership it is
entirely in the interest of the reef's owners not to overfish.
Within these areas of customary tenure many
additional rules, traditions and customs have arisen which
provide considerable further controls. In many cases
certain areas are closed to fishing for given periods, or
even permanently. The placing of taboos on certain reefs
is still common in some countries, closing them to use for
periods of months or even years. Other traditions have
prevented permanent use of certain resources or eating of
certain species.
67
With this existing knowledge, powerful facts have
emerged. A broad swathe of "experts'", including social
scientists, ecologists, lawyers and economists, hold various
parts of the same message. Coral reefs are an incredibly
valuable resource, they can be utilized sustainably, and
such utilization can bring immediate economic and social
benefits. There are no examples whatsoever which show
the contrary. Non-sustainable use of coral reefs, or blind
degradation by remote actions such as deforestation, poor
agriculture and pollution, never pays. The social and
economic consequences are bad in the short term, and
terrible in the longer term.
If these facts could be clearly and accurately transmitted to a global public many of the problems would be
immediately diminished, but the transmission of knowledge is slow, and too often the managers and decision
makers, let alone the wider public, are unaware of these
valuable facts. There remains an urgent need for education
in all quarters to ensure that the lessons being learned by
the experts are rapidly passed on to all people who have an
interest in, or an impact upon, the future of coral reefs -
from fishers to schoolchildren to government members
and city dwellers.
The problem of a lack of ownership and responsibility for coral reefs is a greater challenge. Lying offshore,
reefs in almost every country of the world are seen as a
common resource, available to anyone. Unfortunately, as
populations have boomed and traditional understanding
of coral reef utilization has been rapidly lost in many
areas, so this common access has led to a "tragedy of the
commons": too many people trying to exploit a shared
resource. There is no incentive for fishers to reduce their
catch if all others will not do the same. As the number of
fishers increases and fishing methods become more
efficient, so the pressures on reefs become unsustainable.
Open access and common ownership becomes a freefor-all, as people try to grab as much as possible before
anyone else does.
The lack of ownership at a community level also typically means that there are few concerted efforts by those
using the reefs to control external factors impinging on
"their" resources. In terrestrial ecosystems it is unthinkable
that another individual, company or community should be
allowed to dump raw sewage or industrial waste onto a
neighbor's grazing land, or to smother it with sediments,
preventing the growth of new grass. This is precisely what is
happening to coral reefs, but because they are a common
resource, and because they lie below the water surface,
invisible to the wider public, little or nothing is done.
There are thus a number of key responses to address the
problems facing reefs. Study and research into ecological
functions, human interactions and management techniques
must continue. At the same time the transference of existing
knowledge must be a priority. Finally, to deal directly with
the real problems facing reefs on the groimd there must be
management interventions to reconcile the issues of protecting a common resource. The remainder of this chapter
looks at a number of the management interventions now
being widely put into practice.
In many countries active reef management is not new.
Many of the lessons now being learned have, in fact, been
known and put into practice in traditional societies
adjacent to reefs for centuries or millennia, and some
of these continue to be the most effective means of
protecting coral reefs to the present day. For most
countries, however, new management regimes have to
be developed from scratch. Complex negotiations with a
broad multiplicity of reef users and adjacent communities
are a major part of designing systems to protect coral
reefs, and to enable their continued existence and
continued contribution to human society. Measures
include controls on fishing activities or fishing methods,
wider controls on human activities, and the partitioning
of the reefs themselves, establishing protected areas or
more complex systems across entire coastal zones. Such
measures, effectively applied and with community
support, are already being seen to have spectacular results,
reversing declines and providing a considerable support
to coastal communities. In most places, however, the
challenges are still enormous, and it remains to be seen
how much more will be brought back from the brink
amidst the spiralling challenges of population growth
and climate change.
Traditional management
Humans have used reefs as a source of food for millennia.
As this has become more intensive so systems of control
have developed, including cultural controls, taboos, patterns of reef ownership, closed seasons and restrictions on
types of fishing gear. The best examples, some of which
still exist, are to be found in the Pacific islands.
Perhaps the most widespread and often highly
effective form of reef management is customary tenure,
where reefs, or the reef fish and other resources, are the
property of particular communities. The consequences of
such ownership are considerable, especially in cohesive,
traditional communities. Under restricted ownership it is
entirely in the interest of the reef's owners not to overfish.
Within these areas of customary tenure many
additional rules, traditions and customs have arisen which
provide considerable further controls. In many cases
certain areas are closed to fishing for given periods, or
even permanently. The placing of taboos on certain reefs
is still common in some countries, closing them to use for
periods of months or even years. Other traditions have
prevented permanent use of certain resources or eating of
certain species.