Comanagement of coral reef social-ecological systems.

In an effort to deliver better outcomes for people and the ecosystems they depend on, many governments and civil society groups are engaging natural resource users in collaborative management arrangements (frequently called comanagement). However, there are few empirical studies demonstrating the social and institutional conditions conducive to successful comanagement outcomes, especially in small-scale fisheries. Here, we evaluate 42 comanagement arrangements across five countries and show that: (i) comanagement is largely successful at meeting social and ecological goals; (ii) comanagement tends to benefit wealthier resource users; (iii) resource overexploitation is most strongly influenced by market access and users' dependence on resources; and (iv) institutional characteristics strongly influence livelihood and compliance outcomes, yet have little effect on ecological conditions.

Acehnese reefs in the wake of the Asian tsunami.

The Sumatra-Andanaman tsunami was one of the greatest natural disasters in recorded human history. Here, we show that on the northwest coast of Aceh, Indonesia, where the tsunami was most ferocious, the damage to corals, although occasionally spectacular, was surprisingly limited. We detected no change in shallow coral assemblages between March 2003 and March 2005, with the exception of one site smothered by sediment. Direct tsunami damage was dependent on habitat and largely restricted to corals growing in unconsolidated substrata, a feature unique to tsunami disturbance. Reef condition, however, varied widely within the region and was clearly correlated with human impacts prior to the tsunami. Where fishing has been controlled, coral cover was high. In contrast, reefs exposed to destructive fishing had low coral cover and high algal cover, a phase shift the tsunami may exacerbate with an influx of sediments and nutrients. Healthy reefs did not mitigate the damage on land. Inundation distance was largely determined by wave height and coastal topography. We conclude that although chronic human misuse has been much more destructive to reefs in Aceh than this rare natural disturbance, human modification of the reef did not contribute to the magnitude of damage on land.