Marine Pollution Bulletin xxx (2012) xxx–xxx

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Marine Pollution Bulletin

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Coastal resource degradation in the tropics: Does the tragedy of the commons apply
for coral reefs, mangrove forests and seagrass beds
Clive Wilkinson a,⇑, Bernard Salvat b,c
a
Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network, Reef and Rainforest Research Centre, P.O. Box 772, Townsville 4810, Australia
b
Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes, USR 3278 CNRS-EPHE, CRIOBE Polynésie française, Université de Perpignan, 66860 Perpignan Cedex, France
c
Laboratoire d’excellence CORAIL USR 3278 CNRS-EPHE, ‘‘Les récifs coralliens face au changement global’’ Université de Perpignan, 66860 Perpignan Cedex, France

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

The keynote paper by Garrett Hardin 44 years ago introduced the term ‘tragedy of the commons’ into our
language (Hardin, 1968); this term is now used widely, but it is neither universally accepted nor fully
understood. Irrespective, the ‘tragedy of the commons’ is an increasing reality for more than 500 million
people that rely on the biodiversity resources and services of tropical coral reefs, mangrove forests, sea-
grass beds and associated fisheries. These natural resources continue to decline despite major advances in
our scientific understanding of how ecosystems and human populations interact, and the application of
considerable conservation and management efforts at scales from local user communities to oceans.
Greater effort will be required to avert increasing damage from over-exploitation, pollution and global
climate change; all deriving from increasing exploitation driven by poverty and progress i.e. continuing
to expand development indefinitely and extraction of resources at industrial scales. However, the ‘trag-
edy’ concept has been widely criticized as a simple metaphor for a much larger set of problems and solu-
tions. We argue that the ‘tragedy’ is essentially real and will continue to threaten the lives of millions of
people unless there are some major moral and policy shifts to reverse increasing damage to coastal hab-
itats and resources. We agree with the conclusion by Hardin that the solution to the tragedy will not be
through the application of natural sciences, but via implementing exceedingly difficult and controversial
moral decisions. An extreme example of a moral and controversial direction suggested by Hardin was in
re-examining the ‘freedom to breed’ as an inherent human value. The need for ‘moral decisions’ is even
greater in 2012.
Ó 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Rationale (1968) paper, the focus is on the tropical coastal ‘commons’ that
surround more than 80 small developing states.
We have written this paper from the perspective of marine ecol-
ogists based on our extensive experience in many tropical coun-
1. Introduction
tries. The discussion below outlines many problems and the
declining status of coral reefs, mangrove forests, seagrass beds,
Tropical (including sub-tropical) coral reefs, mangrove forests,
and fisheries; but as ecologists, we consider that we are unable
seagrass beds, and their associated fisheries are critically impor-
to propose many effective solutions. Such solutions will require
tant to the livelihoods of 275 million people of the approximately
the input of, and cooperation from, people covering many different
850 million people in more than 100 predominantly developing
areas, such as social, economic, legal and political disciplines. Our
countries who live adjacent to these coastal resources (UNSG,
objective is to stimulate responses and discussion with the goal
2011). Moreover, these systems provide virtually the only natural
of developing cooperation with other disciplines and perspectives
resources for about 30 small island developing states. These eco-
towards finding effective solutions to what we perceive as an
systems also contain rich biodiversity, rivalling, or possibly sur-
expanding problem. We invite critical comment and suggestions
passing, tropical rainforests. But tropical ecosystems and
for solutions to the problems we outline that are resulting in losses
resources are degrading rapidly as a consequence of rapid popula-
in valuable coastal resources. While we revisit the Garrett Hardin
tion growth and rising economies (Wilkinson, 2008; Spalding et al.,
1997; Green and Short, 2003; Birkeland, 2004; Burke et al., 2011).
⇑ Corresponding author. Major advances in the natural sciences have improved our
E-mail addresses: clive.wilkinson@rrrc.org.au (C. Wilkinson), bsalvat@univ- understanding of marine processes, biodiversity, the ecological
perp.fr (B. Salvat). control mechanisms and major threats, and the likely consequences

0025-326X/$ - see front matter Ó 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2012.01.041

Please cite this article in press as: Wilkinson, C., Salvat, B. Coastal resource degradation in the tropics: Does the tragedy of the commons apply for coral
reefs, mangrove forests and seagrass beds. Mar. Pollut. Bull. (2012), doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2012.01.041
2 C. Wilkinson, B. Salvat / Marine Pollution Bulletin xxx (2012) xxx–xxx
of remedial action (McLeod and Leslie, 2009). Governments have
declared more than 400 tropical marine protected areas (MPAs)
worldwide (although only 20% of these have effective planning
and management and these are mostly in developed countries;
Wood et al., 2008; Toropova et al., 2010). Pelagic and benthic fish
stocks are over-exploited and collapsing (Dayton, 1998; Pauly
et al., 2002; Myers and Worm, 2003; Dulvy et al., 2004) and there
is excessive logging of tropical forests and mangroves (Spalding
et al., 1997), which is resulting in increased levels of sedimentation.
Land-based pollution is increasing along with rising incidences of
diseases and plague organisms, and now there is increasing damage
from global climate change (Walther et al., 2002; Hoegh-Guldberg
et al., 2007; Veron et al., 2009). There are, however, arguments that
coral reef science has not advanced to accommodate the major
changes occurring with the ‘Anthropocene’ and is still embedded
in reductionist approaches, rather than a much needed multi-disci-
plinary ethic (Bradbury and Seymour, 2009).
The four critical studies below have markedly influenced our
thinking on resource conservation; these have resulted in para-
digm shifts in the way we as ecologists perceived the problems
and solutions:
 The ‘tragedy of the commons’ paper by Hardin in 1968 stressed
that the solutions to over-use and decline of the commons or
open access to resources (areas not owned by individuals or
groups, but open to exploitation) will not be based on science
or technology, but will need moral and economic decisions
(Hardin, 1968; Ludwig et al., 1993). The major problem Hardin
identified was a human population of 3.9 billion in 1968;
whereas the population in 2012 exceeds seven billion. Of this
increase, the most rapid population and economic growth is
in tropical countries and coastal areas. Since Hardin’s paper,
multinational corporations (MNCs) now extract resources from
throughout the world, the world’s economy has become more
globalized, such that market pressures have extended to the vil-
lage level with many coastal resources being traded on external
markets for short-term financial gain e.g. mangrove timber, live
coral reef fishes for food and for the aquarium, and articles for
the curio trade;
 The ‘precautionary principle’ concept refined by Gray (1995)
stressed that caution should be applied prior to any develop-
ment and rejected if the balance of learned opinion indicated
a strong likelihood of long-term damage to the marine
environment;
 ‘Malthusian over-fishing’ and ‘fishing down the food chain’ of
Daniel Pauly and colleagues (Pauly and Chua, 1988; Pauly,
1990; Pauly et al., 1998, 2002) demonstrated that population
growth and increasing rates of over-fishing, especially in South-
east Asia, were unsustainable with the consequence being long-
term changes to fish population structures and ecosystems. The
final stages of the cascade involve destructive trawling, and poi-
son and blast fishing;
 The ‘shifting baseline’ paper by Jeremy Jackson and colleagues
(Jackson et al., 2001) stressed that the true natural baseline
for coastal ecosystems was probably more than 8000 years
ago, and this baseline has continually dropped with the progres-
sive removal of key species in virtually all coastal habitats.
2. Threats and stresses to tropical coastal ecosystems and
present status
Tropical coastal ecosystems are seriously threatened by many
natural and anthropogenic stresses that are multiple, complex
and often operate synergistically. These systems contain about
25% of all marine biodiversity (Groombridge and Jenkins, 2002);
they produce large amounts of exploitable food, timber, fiber and
Please cite this article in press as: Wilkinson, C., Salvat, B. Coastal resource degradation in the tropics: Does the tragedy of the commons apply for coral
reefs, mangrove forests and seagrass beds. Mar. Pollut. Bull. (2012), doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2012.01.041
rock (Reid et al., 2005); and about one third of all described species
in the marine environment occur on coral reefs (Roberts et al.,
2002; Bouchet, 2006). The nature of the stresses can be grouped
into three direct damage categories and one cluster of organiza-
tional factors (Table 1). Although most coastal ecosystems have
the inherent capacity to recover from natural stresses, chronic
anthropogenic stresses are impeding recovery and leading to grad-
ual and often imperceptible decline.
2.1. Coral reefs
Evidence of human impacts on coral reefs has been accumulat-
ing since the 1980s (Salvat, 1987) and in 2008 it was reported that
approximately 19% of the world’s coral reefs were severely dam-
aged with no immediate prospects of recovery, and 35% of the
remaining coral reefs were under imminent risk of degradation
from direct human pressures (Wilkinson, 2008). Similar estimates
have come from other large-scale studies (Burke et al., 2002; Burke
and Maidens, 2004; Bruno and Selig, 2007; Bellwood et al., 2004;
Obura et al., 2008). The most recent study by Burke et al. (2011)
calculated that more than 60% of the world’s coral reefs are under
immediate threat; this rises to 75% if potential global climate
change stress is included. Live coral cover declined by 80% in
25 years in the wider Caribbean to 2001 (Gardner et al., 2003),
and further declined following mass coral bleaching in 2005 (Wil-
kinson and Souter, 2008).
2.2. Mangrove forests
Tropical mangroves have suffered similar losses due to clearing
of forests for coastal developments and aquaculture, especially for
penaeid shrimp ponds, and especially for export of timber and
woodchips by multinational corporations (Spalding et al., 1997).
Approximately 25–35% of mangrove forests have been cleared
globally and this is increasing at 2–8% per year with multinational
corporations expanding their activities for paper and rayon pro-
duction (Reid et al., 2005). The loss of coastal and estuarine man-
groves contributed to the large loss of life during the 2004 Indian
Ocean tsunami (Alongi, 2008) and Cyclone Nargis that devastated
Burma/Myanmar in 2008.
2.3. Seagrass beds
Degradation of seagrasses by pollution, eutrophication, sedi-
mentation, disease, trawling and boat damage is comparable to
that for coral reefs and mangroves, with losses estimated at 7% of
the 350,000–600,000 km2 global seagrass area (Spalding et al.,
1997; Duarte, 2002). Losses have been further exacerbated by ma-
jor reductions in the turtle and dugong grazers, resulting in over-
growth by competitive species (Jackson et al., 2001).
2.4. Fisheries resources
The coastal fisheries of most economically developing tropical
countries are over-developed, with clear evidence of ‘Malthusian’
or ‘demophoric’ overfishing in large areas through the combination
of increasing fisher numbers, better equipment (Pauly and Chua,
1988), rapid economic growth fuelling increasing market demand
in-country and globally, and destruction of wetland nursery areas
(Pauly, 1990).
2.5. Marine protected areas (MPAs)
Ecological theory and knowledge of the underlying biology are
increasingly being used in the ‘optimal’ design of MPAs to conserve
biodiversity and its inherent value (Lubchenko et al., 2003; McLeod
 C. Wilkinson, B. Salvat / Marine Pollution Bulletin xxx (2012) xxx–xxx 3

Table 1
The major stresses which damage coastal habitats and resources (summarized from Wilkinson, 2004, 2008).

1. Natural factors Not readily amenable to conservation measures

i. Catastrophic geologic: earthquake, tsunami, volcano,
meteors
ii. Meteorological & climatic: tropical storms, floods,
droughts, extremes of heat & cold
iii. Extreme low tides
2. Direct human pressures
i. Exploitation: over-fishing, logging, trawling damage
(exacerbated by global market pressures)
ii. Sedimentation increases: logging, farming, development
iii. Nutrient & chemical pollution
iv. Development of coastal areas
3. Global change threats
i. Elevated sea surface temperatures
ii. Increased storms, wider climatic fluctuations
iii. Rising CO2 in atmosphere & dissolved in seawater
increasing ocean acidification
iv. Diseases, plagues & invasive species
4. Governance, awareness, political will
i. Rising poverty, increasing populations, alienation from
land
ii. Poor management capacity & lack of resources
iii. Poor political will & oceans governance
iv. Uncoordinated global & regional conservation
arrangements
Potential for rare, but major localized damage to coral reefs, seagrasses & mangroves
Severe storms smash or bury coral reefs, scour & undermine seagrasses, or bury them under sediments,
especially with flooding. Mangroves resist most storms; droughts reduce fresh water & nutrient flow to
mangroves; temperature extremes cause coral bleaching & photosynthetic damage to seagrasses &
mangroves
Exposes coral reefs, seagrasses & causes widespread mortality e.g. Red Sea
Major target for conservation measures
Harvesting of fishes & invertebrates beyond sustainable yields, includes damaging practices (bomb,
cyanide fishing); boat scour & anchor damage to reefs & seagrasses; destruction of mangroves
Excess sediment & mud on coral reefs & seagrasses from poor land use, deforestation, & dredging; reduces
photosynthesis; associated with disease; may favor mangroves
Organic & inorganic chemicals in sediments, untreated sewage, agriculture, animal husbandry & industry
wastes; includes complex organics & heavy metals. Turbidity reduces light, promotes growth of
competing algae on corals, seagrasses & mangroves; herbicides kill seagrasses, mangroves
Removal or burial of coral reefs, seagrass beds & mangroves for urban, industrial, transport & tourism
developments (airports); mining reef rock & sand beyond sustainable limits; clearing mangroves for
shrimp ponds
Not readily amenable to conservation; need major global focus
Coral bleaching in corals i.e. loss of photosynthetic zooxanthellae either temporary or lethal; stimulate
algal blooms on reefs & seagrasses
Stronger storms will smash or bury coral reefs, scour & undermine seagrasses and mangrove forests;
increased rain will increase sediment flows during floods.
Increased CO2 in seawater increases acidity which will decrease calcification rates in corals & other
organisms; higher CO2 concentrations may increase seagrass & mangrove productivity
Intensity & frequency of coral diseases & plagues of predators correlated with global climate change,
especially higher temperatures. Similar stress to seagrasses e.g. Caulerpa threaten seagrasses
Major target for conservation measures
More poor, dispossessed people use coastal resources for subsistence & habitation
Few trained personnel for coastal management, raising awareness, enforcement & monitoring; lack of
funds & logistics for conservation e.g. smaller countries
Political ignorance, indifference, inertia; corruption & low transparency in governance at global & regional
levels all impede decision making & waste resources
Poor coordination in Multilateral Environmental Agreements & international donors results in
overlapping meeting & reporting requirements which exhaust conservation capacity in smaller countries

and Leslie, 2009), particularly at larger ecosystem scales. But the
application of this sound science is impeded by many blockages
(Table 2) and five potential weaknesses:
 the science is rarely provided to local user communities and
resource managers;
 ecosystems are changing more rapidly than science can effec-
tively document and understand;
 new threats are emerging, like global climate change;
 there are insufficient working partnerships between the natu-
ral, social and economic sciences, and the user communities;
and
 the problems and solutions are frequently not conveyed to, or
ignored by governments, particularly those in smaller countries.
2.6. Climate change threats
These are more recent and increasing. Coral reefs are predicted
to be the first major ecosystem to suffer extensive damage due to
global climate change, especially from increasing sea surface tem-
peratures, and elevated concentrations of CO2 (Hoegh-Guldberg
et al., 2007; Marubini et al., 2008.). Sea level rise will have little ef-
fect on corals, but will flood mangrove forests and make low lying
coral reef islands uninhabitable, and coastal ecosystems will be se-
verely damaged by the predicted increase in the incidence of se-
vere tropical storms (IPCC, 2007; Salvat and Wilkinson, 2011).
Significant damage has already been documented to coral reefs
in recent decades from elevated sea surface temperatures and
increasing ocean acidification that has reduced calcification in cor-
als, coralline algae, molluscs etc. (Hoegh-Guldberg et al., 2007;
Marubini et al., 2008; De’ath et al., 2009; Fabricius et al., 2011).
Current predictions are for much more, and possibly irreversible,
damage if atmospheric CO2 concentrations exceed 450 ppm (Brad-
bury and Seymour, 2009; Veron et al., 2009). There are no parallel
climate change threats to mangrove forests and seagrass beds.
2.7. Other global threats
These include: increases in diseases of corals, other reef organ-
isms (Harvell et al., 2002), and seagrasses (Green and Short, 2003;
Waycott et al., 2009); plagues of coral predators (Seymour and
Bradbury, 1999); sea level rise and erosion in mangroves (Gilman
et al., 2008); and invasive species (Grosholz, 2002). These threats
are increasingly being correlated with climate change events, and
also correlated with increases in observation and awareness
(Rosenzweig et al., 2008).
Exacerbating all of these threats is poor awareness and insuffi-
cient capacity in governments, particularly in smaller states. This
was a major theme identified by 240 contributors from 96 coun-
tries that was impeding effective coral reef conservation (Wilkin-
son, 2004). A lack of open governance often underlies many
failed conservation efforts in tropical countries faced with expand-
ing human populations (Barber et al., 2004). Those charged with
resource conservation must tackle these threats and stresses,
incorporate planning for future stresses, like global climate change,
and circumvent the many institutional and human behavior block-
ages (Table 2).
The internationally agreed targets of having between 10% and
30% of the oceans declared as protected areas from 2010 to 2012
have very little chance of being reached as only 1.7% currently

Please cite this article in press as: Wilkinson, C., Salvat, B. Coastal resource degradation in the tropics: Does the tragedy of the commons apply for coral
reefs, mangrove forests and seagrass beds. Mar. Pollut. Bull. (2012), doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2012.01.041
4 C. Wilkinson, B. Salvat / Marine Pollution Bulletin xxx (2012) xxx–xxx

has MPA status, with probably less than 0.2% under high or no-take increase catches leading to ‘growth overfishing’ by removing stock
protection (Wood et al., 2008; Toropova et al., 2010). before they breed. As fish stocks decline, the fishers feel compelled
to use damaging measures to feed their families, e.g. bombs or cya-
nide (Johannes and Riepen, 1995).
3. Does the tragedy of the commons apply to tropical coasts?
Exploitation of tropical coastal fisheries resources has increased
considerably since the 1980s for the lucrative live reef food fish
3.1. The ‘tragedy concept’ and the ‘commons’ since Hardin
trade supplying restaurants in Hong Kong and elsewhere in Asia
(Johannes and Riepen, 1995). This trade has expanded into indus-
The ‘tragedy’ concept has been criticized as being a simple met-
trial scale fishing that is depleting fish populations across the
aphor for more complex problems of the common-pool resources
Indo-West Pacific region, including the unsustainable exploitation
(CPR), which are not owned by individuals or governments (Os-
of fish spawning aggregations (Sadovy and Domeier, 2005). Exces-
trom et al., 1999; Geist and Lambin, 2002; Brown, 2003; Dietz
sive trawling has resulted in major collapses in fish stocks on sandy
et al., 2003). For this paper, we avoid discussion of the differences
and muddy bottoms, and in seagrass beds throughout the tropical
between the ‘tragedy of the commons’ and the ‘tragedy of open ac-
world (Pauly and Chua, 1988; Pauly et al., 2002); however, the
cess’ as they merge in many coral reef areas where national and
structural complexity of coral reefs has largely spared them from
state governments have minimal involvement and where the con-
industrial fishing. The particular exception is through muro ami
cept of ‘individual transferable quotas’ (ITQs) is unknown (Mans-
(drive net fishing) that operates largely out of the southern Philip-
field, 2004). The ITQ concept was developed to manage large
pines (Jennings and Polunin, 1996). Thus, most reef fishing is either
scale fisheries, such as in the North Pacific and North Atlantic.
subsistence or small scale commercial and recreational from small
Thus, Ostrom et al. (1999) define common-pool resources as those
boats and canoes.
‘‘in which (i) exclusion of beneficiaries through physical and insti-
Ecosystem sustainability has been put under increasing pres-
tutional means is especially costly, and (ii) exploitation by one user
sure with a fourfold global population increase in the last
reduces resource availability for others.’’ There are many examples
100 years, which has lead to changes in traditional use patterns
that demonstrate how different management structures of com-
that lead to disruption of reef community structures (Dahl and Sal-
mon-pool resources have conserved some ecosystems, principally
vat, 1988) accompanied by increases in technological capacity for
on land. However, from our ecological perspective, these appear
exploitation (Vitousek et al., 1997) and by the development of local
to be ‘the exceptions’ for tropical coastal habitats whereas con-
and global cash economies; all have increased exploitation (Johan-
served resources are usually surrounded by areas in rapid decline
nes, 2002; Huitric, 2005). Such basic, low cost, technological ad-
i.e. ‘the rule’ (Wilkinson, 2008; Spalding et al., 1997; Green and
vances as monofilament (nylon) lines and nets, and diving face
Short, 2003; Birkeland, 2004). This has been referred as the
masks have increased exploitation capacity (Johannes, 2002). The
‘‘pathology of natural resource management,’’ where short-term
introduction of diving masks has contributed to localized extinc-
success in managing resource use is usually ineffective over the
tions of giant clams, pearl and trochus shell and sea cucumbers
long-term and at ecological scales (Holling and Meffe, 1996; Folke,
(bêche-de-mer) on many Pacific reefs (Salvat, 1980, 1984).
2006).
Humans continue to use tropical coastal resources similar to
The ‘commons’ of Hardin were zones in which habitats and re-
‘hunter gatherers’ by harvesting fishes, trees and coral rock, there-
sources were available to everybody without any regulations; he
by damaging the habitats and depleting the harvest of other users
used the example of more and more farmers grazing cattle on
(Huitric, 2005). Over-exploitation of resources is the result, and
‘common’ land thereby resulting in gradual losses by all farmers
governments, international organizations and agreements have
(Hardin, 1968). Since Hardin, the UN Convention on the Law of
been restrained in arresting this over-exploitation due to social
the Sea has re-defined national territorial waters and introduced
constraints, powerful lobbies, and political opposition. Thus a
Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ), such that there are no more legal
‘CPR dilemma’ results with sub-optimal harvests being the norm
coastal ‘commons’ (Mansfield, 2004). This designation, however, is
for most fishers. The successful examples of community coopera-
largely irrelevant for local user communities. The only remaining
tive mechanisms are, however, continually threatened by popula-
true marine ‘commons’ are the high seas where pelagic fisheries
tion growth, coastward migration, weak institutions and
are heavily exploited, and seabed resources have become increas-
confusing legal status (Huitric, 2005; Barratt et al., 2001).
ingly damaged during the last two decades, mainly though indus-
trial scale exploitation. There are ongoing processes within the
3.3. Land-based pollution has increased
United Nations to reduce damage to these high seas resources,
for example, through intergovernmental agreements such as OS-
The use of coastal waters as a recipient for waste generated
PAR in the North Atlantic to protect seamounts and cold water cor-
elsewhere has increased at rates beyond the capacity of ecosys-
al reefs from trawling (www.ospar.org). Nevertheless, restricting
tems to adapt or evolve (Hardin, 1968; Jackson et al., 2001) and
or controlling access to tropical coastal resources is particularly
which may trigger regime shifts (Kraberg et al., 2011). Pollution
difficult because they cannot be ‘fenced’ to exclude outside exploi-
may be as damaging as resource depletion with evidence that there
tation, access is relatively easy without the need for expensive
is a limit to the world’s ability to accommodate these wastes (Hale,
technology, legal mechanisms are complex and ineffective, and
2004). For example, tropical rivers discharge 65% of the world’s or-
communities are rarely given control over the area (Ostrom
ganic wastes and 51% of sediments into nearby coastal waters (Mil-
et al., 1999; Dietz et al., 2003; Poteete et al., 2010).
liman and Syvitski, 1992), and ‘dead zones’ are becoming more
frequent in coastal waters (Rabelais et al., 2002; Kodama and Hor-
3.2. Increased exploitation of the tropical coastal ‘commons’ iguchi, 2011). The economic advantages of disposing of waste into
waterways appear to outweigh the minimal ecosystem costs from
Exploitation was comparatively ‘sustainable’ when a small each point source; for example, deeper ocean outfalls can reduce
catch relative to the productivity of the reef was shared amongst fecal pollution on swimming beaches. The continual release of per-
small, relatively stable, populations such as small Pacific island sistent organic pollutants (pesticides, industrial chemicals, endo-
communities with important traditional knowledge and their crine-like compounds) into the sea may reach critical limits in
own regulations (Johannes, 2002). An example of the ‘tragedy’ is the near future, by disrupting life cycles and immune responses
when increasing populations of fishers use smaller mesh nets to of key marine organisms (Ayako et al., 2011) or through concentra-

Please cite this article in press as: Wilkinson, C., Salvat, B. Coastal resource degradation in the tropics: Does the tragedy of the commons apply for coral
reefs, mangrove forests and seagrass beds. Mar. Pollut. Bull. (2012), doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2012.01.041
 C. Wilkinson, B. Salvat / Marine Pollution Bulletin xxx (2012) xxx–xxx 5

Table 2
Key blockages to coastal conservation success. These are blockages we have encountered throughout the world that should be recognized and overcome for successful
conservation outcomes.

1. Lack of awareness
 ‘out of sight, out of mind’ – stakeholders rarely share similar perceptions of the status of resources they cannot see underwater or assess with satellites (Adams
et al., 2003)
 ‘shifting baselines’ – the baseline status of coastal degradation has been declining continually and almost imperceptibly for 8000 years (Jackson et al., 2001)
 ‘end of the pipeline’ – the concept that waste poured into the ocean will cause minimal future impact (Hale, 2004)
 ‘give the man a fish and you will feed him for a day; teach him how to fish and you feed him for a lifetime’ – supposed that there were vast, inexhaustible supplies of
fish (Jackson et al., 2001)
2. Inappropriate and ill considered responses
 ‘western management is better’ – traditional and holistic resource management with clearly defined marine tenure has been replaced with cash economies and
‘Western’ law, which declares most marine areas to be ‘commons’ (Johannes, 2002)
 ‘just bring in the engineers’ – suggests that environmental damage can be reversed with engineering ‘solutions’ (building groynes, sea walls and dredging sand);
these often create new ‘problems’;
 ‘3–5 year project cycles’ – aid and development agencies often seek new approaches rather than building on previous success. While larger projects are easier to
administer, small, targeted projects can often solve real problems
3. Flaws in societal decision making
 ‘just leave it to the government’ – the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) in 2002 asked many small developing countries to develop networks of
no-take MPAs, however most lack the human and financial resources to manage and enforce conservation. Furthermore, governments and communities are often ill
informed of the threats and potential solutions
 ‘global systems are stable’ – assumes that both ecological and socioeconomic systems are on stable and predictable trajectories, independent of each other (Folke,
2006)
 ‘the unspoken Ps’ – increasing populations, rising poverty and ‘progress’ are the root cause driving coastal resource degradation. Until these interlinked problems
are addressed, sustainable management of natural resources will be extremely difficult

tion in the food chain, including food for human consumption
(Glynn et al., 1995; Haynes and Johnson, 2000; Ramade and Roche,
2006; Gong et al., 2011).
3.4. Aquaculture is insufficient
The coastal zone occupies only 10% of the oceans surface, but
90% of the marine fish catch either comes this zone or depends
on it during larval stages (Holligan and de Boois, 1993). Aquacul-
ture is increasing food supply, but much of the product goes to
supply markets in wealthy developed countries, and has not yet
provided the same advances in expanding food supplies as has
tropical agriculture (Naylor et al., 2000). Moreover, aquaculture
will be less effective in restocking depleted environments if these
are degraded or over-fished.
3.5. Coastal degradation continues despite advances in conservation
Conservation approaches have improved following greater rec-
ognition of the integral role that humans play in ecosystems e.g.
recognition of the ‘social-ecological system’ concept (Hughes
et al., 2005; Folke, 2006). Single species management, and fisheries
management tools like closed seasons, bag and size limits, have
been largely ineffective in limiting subsistence fisheries that lie
outside regulation mechanisms (Duda, 2005); although such regu-
lations may be effective in managing some fisheries in developed
countries. Recent emphasis has shifted towards whole of ecosys-
tem management (McLeod and Leslie, 2009), whereby extrinsic
and intrinsic factors like larval recruitment or pollution exchanges
are recognized in the management of larger areas, along with man-
agement of the existing resources. Similarly economics has shifted
from an ‘empty world’ to ‘full world’ concepts after conceding that
natural resources are limited (Costanza, 2001).
The bulk of conservation literature derives from developed
countries and terrestrial ecosystems; whereas, tropical coastal re-
sources are predominantly within developing countries with
limited human capacity and resources for conservation. For exam-
ple, 21% of more than 100 countries with significant coral reef
areas have fewer than 100,000 people, and a further 23% have pop-
ulations under one million. Resource managers in these countries
often have poor access to literature, are required to focus on
day-to-day management, are often diverted to attend meetings
called by international agencies, and often receive inadequate sup-
port from their governments. However, sustainable development
in coastal countries is not feasible without resource conservation
(Duda, 2005), and cannot be achieved without overcoming the sig-
nificant blockages to conservation in Table 2 (Geist and Lambin,
2002; Barber et al., 2004).
Many successful natural and social science approaches have
been developed to conserve coastal resources (Table 3), and any
subsequent failures are due more to an inability to identify and
rectify the multiple causes of decline (Geist and Lambin, 2002),
or a failure of the human institutions charged with the task (Barratt
et al., 2001), or failure to apply a ‘precautionary principle’ approach
(Gray, 1995).
The development of MPAs had the appearance of success in
2010 with governments declaring 5900 MPAs worldwide covering
4.2 million km2 (Wood et al., 2008; Toropova et al., 2010), includ-
ing 700 with coral reefs and 60 which have been recognized under
international instruments (Salvat et al., 2002), and 300 with sea-
grass beds (although seagrasses are rarely specifically managed;
Green et al., 2004). These MPAs, however, covered only 0.65% of
the world’s ocean and 7% of the global shallow water habitat
respectively in 2008; with more than half being in the Great Barrier
Reef Marine Park of Australia and the large protected areas de-
clared in 2007 in Hawaii and Kiribati (Wood et al., 2008). An even
larger area was declared, although still disputed, in 2010 covering
the Chagos Archipelago or British Indian Ocean Territory (Sheppard
et al., 2012); the global area covered is now approximately 1.7%.
The success of all these MPAs, other than those under the control
of larger developed countries, is limited as only 21% have moderate
to effective planning and management (Kelleher et al., 1995) e.g.
only 2 of 285 MPAs in the Wider Caribbean (Burke and Maidens,
2004), and < 20% of 630 MPAs in Southeast Asia (Tun et al., 2004)
are effectively managed or enforced. Moreover, controlling exploi-
tation from large remote MPAs will be difficult to enforce to pre-
vent illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing. The
establishment of MPAs is still regarded as a particularly effective
mechanism to conserve coastal habitats and the contained biodi-
versity (Roberts, 2007), although caution has been raised over
emphasizing MPAs as mechanisms for fisheries management (Sale
et al., 2005).

Please cite this article in press as: Wilkinson, C., Salvat, B. Coastal resource degradation in the tropics: Does the tragedy of the commons apply for coral
reefs, mangrove forests and seagrass beds. Mar. Pollut. Bull. (2012), doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2012.01.041
6 C. Wilkinson, B. Salvat / Marine Pollution Bulletin xxx (2012) xxx–xxx

4. Can the tragedy of the coastal commons be reversed?
Many of the required policy shifts to reverse the ‘tragedy’ were
suggested by Hardin 44 years ago, when he acknowledged that,
while the natural sciences could effectively define the problems
and indicate the causes, the solutions would involve difficult moral
and social decisions (Hardin, 1968). The rapid degradation of trop-
ical coastal resources is a direct result of anthropogenic activities,
combined with the more recent damage from global climate
change; both of these result from increasing population, globaliza-
tion and economic pressures. To support the natural resistance and
resilience of these coastal resources, future environmental policy
will need to tackle the multiple proximate damaging factors, and
the ultimate human blockages and population problems that im-
pede conservation efforts. The former may not require the develop-
ment of radically new resource management mechanisms, but a
better use of the tested approaches through building stronger part-
nerships of disciplines, including environmental economics, social
and natural sciences, and law, operating through local govern-
ments, NGOs and user communities. Any shifts in policies and par-
adigms should target the causes (Table 1), avoid the blockages
(Table 2), and apply the tools more effectively (Table 3), especially
in developing countries. However, radically different approaches
may be required in developing countries to those currently being
adopted in developed and newly emerging economies.
Many of the published conservation paradigms for the marine
tropics derive from Australia, France, the UK, and the USA. These
advocate conservation through the establishment of large-scale,
no-take MPAs based on ecosystem-based management, and imple-
mented through an essentially top-down legal approach. This in-
cludes sustainable fisheries management backed by adequate
enforcement and raising awareness amongst relatively receptive
populations that are not overtly dependent on exploiting coastal
resources (McLeod and Leslie, 2009; Pretty, 2003). The predomi-
nant direct anthropogenic pressures are amenable to control as
population pressures are relatively constant in developed countries
and often decreasing; however increasing climate change remains
a major threat to resource sustainability.
The reverse situation frequently applies in developing countries
where population pressures are increasing rapidly in parallel with
expanding economies and pervasive poverty. Here most of the suc-
cessful resource conservation mechanisms are essentially bottom-
up through the establishment of many small community run MPAs
that preferentially contain a minimum of 20–30% no-take areas e.g.
in the Philippines (Russ and Alcala, 2004) and Fiji (Govan, 2009).
Ideally these MPAs are networked to facilitate the exchange of
juvenile and adult biota. Few developing countries have the capac-
ity to police and enforce existing legislation, and there is often poor
awareness of the problems facing these resources and the need for
resource conservation for sustainable development (Duda, 2005).
Frequently, the lack of awareness of resource status and trends ex-
tends to national leaders, who receive insufficient advice. Thus, re-
source management has to be focused on reducing direct
anthropogenic pressures, while acknowledging that adaptation
mechanisms are required to minimize climate change threats.
The problems are compounded by increasing populations, often
paralleled by entrenched resistance to population control policies
perceived as coming from developed countries.
The focus for successful tropical coastal conservation and inte-
grated coastal management should be on the:
 critical natural resources of economic importance, and their
inter-connections;
 key ‘stakeholders’ that use and manage the resources;

Table 3
Tools in the Toolbox. Many different mechanisms and strategies to manage coastal resources have been developed, either by traditional societies or more recent government
action.

MPAsa and variations

 ‘MPAs as essential insurance policies’ – biodiversity conservation is enhanced if MPAs contain significant areas with high protection status (no-take zones), which
prohibit extraction, but may permit non-extractive uses like tourism (Lubchenko et al., 2003; Barber et al., 2004)
 ‘better insurance with networked MPAs’ – the effectiveness of smaller, isolated MPAs can be improved if networked with others to conserve the larval sources and
sinks (Lubchenko et al., 2003; Barber et al., 2004)
 ‘setting targets’- the WSSD called for a global network of ecologically representative MPAs by 2012 and CBD recommended high level protection for 10% of each
ecosystem by 2010 (CBD, 2003); WWF suggest protection of 10% of the seas by 2012 (WWF, 2003); the World Parks Congress recommended protection of 20–30% of
each marine ecosystem by 2012; The Nature Conservancy and partners target effective conservation of 10% of every major habitat by 2015 (Hardner and Rice, 2002)
Apply ecosystem based management (EBM)
‘manage all components’ – ecosystem based management is regarded as the most comprehensive and all-encompassing mechanism to manage ecosystems, as well as
accommodate sustainable human uses (McLeod and Leslie, 2009) ‘the larger the better’ – manage the largest possible area or networked smaller areas. Most recent
reports and large marine ecosystem concepts emphasize this to encompass connectivity and as ‘insurance’ against localized damage (McLeod and Leslie, 2009; Mora
et al., 2006)
Focusing efforts for success
 ‘don’t waste time on lost causes’ – apply a triage approach (Buddemeier, 2001) if logistic and financial resources are limited to focus conservation efforts on the least
damaged areas with predicted low future stresses;
 ‘hot spots’ – contain rich stores of biodiversity and endemic species (Roberts et al., 2003)
 ‘resistance and resilience’ – spread the risks by focusing on replicated sites with known resistance and resilience to global stresses e.g. resist coral bleaching or
recover rapidly (West and Salm, 2003);
 ‘the problem may be behind you’ – emphasizes catchment ‘buffer zones’ to minimize exploitation and pollution e.g. ‘WW2BW – White Water to Blue Water’
(Laughlin et al., 2006; Wilkinson and Brodie, 2011)
 ‘learn the lessons of success’ – demonstrate success via peer-to-peer exchanges and demonstration sites
Involve communities in management
 ‘what do they really want’ – understand societal expectations and recognize trade-offs for the greater good i.e. do not proceed beyond the community acceptance
limits (Adams et al., 2003; Christie and White, 2007)
 ‘what is in it for me?’ – communities must be well informed, involved in resource management and perceive present and future benefits;
 ‘top-down or bottom-up’- whether management is through government or communities, either devolved, co-management, or community based, management will
depend on how local institutions function (Barratt et al., 2001; Christie and White, 2007)
 ‘reality of the stomach’ – acceptable alternative livelihoods and food sources must be provided before fishers can reduce effort;
 ‘tell it as it is’ – effective and transparent communication is essential with communities involved in ecological and economic monitoring;
 ‘buy it to conserve it’ – compensate communities by ‘purchasing’ logging concessions etc. and paying them to manage the resources (Hardner and Rice, 2002)
 ‘the buck stops there’ – above all, clean and effective governance without corruption and nepotism is needed for sustainable development
a
A marine protected area is considered here as a coastal area that is being managed or protected to reduce damaging human impacts.

Please cite this article in press as: Wilkinson, C., Salvat, B. Coastal resource degradation in the tropics: Does the tragedy of the commons apply for coral
reefs, mangrove forests and seagrass beds. Mar. Pollut. Bull. (2012), doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2012.01.041
 C. Wilkinson, B. Salvat / Marine Pollution Bulletin xxx (2012) xxx–xxx
 multiple causes of resource degradation and future threats;
 removal of major blockages to successful conservation;
 methods and case studies that demonstrate success (and fail-
ure) conveyed through peer-to-peer exchanges;
 generous application of communication, education and training
assistance; and
 monitoring and feedback mechanisms to assess progress and
involve communities.
The principle tools available for resource management developed
through wide global experience are: better targeting and management
of MPAs to ensure that they are sufficiently large to conserve habitats
and biodiversity as well as being networked to provide insurance
against localized losses; better focusing of efforts where success is
deemed more likely e.g. by applying a triage approach (Buddemeier,
2001); and especially, working with and strengthening communities
and their institutions, in parallel with assisting governments with a
specific focus on ensuring enforcement of management regulations.
The special problem for tropical coastal resources and their communi-
ties is that a large proportion is scattered throughout the territorial
seas of small countries, or are in larger, developing countries with rap-
idly growing populations.
The successes in tropical coastal conservation often represent
isolated ‘atolls’ in ‘seas of desolation’. There has been considerable
critical debate over conservation failures and the ‘exceptions’,
without full recognition of the successes and the ‘rules’. For exam-
ple, caution has been urged over the use of MPAs as tools for fish-
eries management, with recommendations that the designation of
new MPAs be suspended until there is proof of effectiveness in
enhancing fish stocks (Sale et al., 2005; Hilborn et al., 2004). How-
ever, most MPAs have been developed primarily to conserve biodi-
versity and habitats, and not specifically to manage fish stocks;
although this is often an argument used with affected communi-
ties. Because few MPAs are effectively planned, managed and en-
forced, it is not the method that has failed, but the application. A
precautionary approach would be to establish more MPAs for con-
servation, and not as ‘experiments’. No-take areas should consti-
tute the non-interference ‘controls’ in ‘experiments’ of
exploitation and waste disposal. The ‘burden of proof’ should be re-
versed to determine whether these activities cause biodiversity
loss and irreparable damage to ecosystems (Dayton, 1998). Thus
the ideal paradigm should change from ‘how much is enough’ for
conservation (Lubchenko et al., 2003), to ‘how much is too much’
for activities that cause irreparable damage.
A major blockage to conservation in the tropics is a lack of
capacity and awareness in developing countries, especially small
ones. This can be best addressed with targeted assistance in educa-
tion about the ecosystems and consequences of degradation, and
capacity building to manage the resources. In turn, small countries,
especially those in the Pacific and Caribbean, could assist by form-
ing country blocks for better sharing of education and capacity
building projects, and to focus their approaches to donors and
the Multilateral Environmental Agreement organizations.
Irrespective of semantic arguments, the aspects of the ‘tragedy
of the commons’ continue to be evident in open-access, tropical
coastal areas. Coastal resource degradation is exacerbated because
the ecosystems are inter-linked, and experience increased exploi-
tation, but without adequate governance (Ostrom et al., 1999;
Poteete et al., 2010). Whereas, most success in averting the ‘trag-
edy’ has been on land with closed-access commons (Pretty, 2003).
The tragedy of coastal resource degradation can only be re-
versed if human pressures are markedly reduced by: strengthening
managing institutions and reducing increasing human pressures;
reducing populations dependent on these resources; encouraging
sustainable tourism ventures that provide employment to local
communities and include them in management; providing sustain-
Please cite this article in press as: Wilkinson, C., Salvat, B. Coastal resource degradation in the tropics: Does the tragedy of the commons apply for coral
reefs, mangrove forests and seagrass beds. Mar. Pollut. Bull. (2012), doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2012.01.041
7
able alternative livelihoods and food; reducing open access to
coastal resources by outsiders and especially MNCs; reducing eco-
nomic pressures that are driving over-exploitation of coastal re-
sources; and reducing pollution inputs. These are not natural
science solutions, but social science actions via strengthening hu-
man governance and livelihoods (Hardin, 1968; Folke, 2006). These
solutions will require: forming partnerships with all levels of gov-
ernments and communities to share responsibility for reducing or
diverting damaging exploitation and pollution practices, and
unsustainable tourism operations; providing alternative liveli-
hoods that are not dependent on resource depletion; implement-
ing ecosystem-based management; and establishing effective and
well managed no-take MPAs (Adams et al., 2003). The well-cited
examples in the Philippines and Fiji indicate that partnerships be-
tween natural and social sciences and local and national govern-
ments can be effective (Christie and White, 2007; Russ and
Alcala, 2004; Govan, 2009). These partnerships will need to make
difficult moral and economic decisions about people, with higher
levels of government devolving some power and responsibility to
lower authorities (Dietz et al., 2003), and for communities to devel-
op stronger institutions of governance (Brown, 2003; Barratt et al.,
2001; Hughes et al., 2005). Just as there are multiple causes of
coastal resource decline, there are a many models of power sharing
between communities and governments; these models must be
adapted for each coastal region (Christie and White, 2007).
5. Conclusions
Since the Garrett Hardin paper (Hardin, 1968) on the ‘tragedy of
the commons’ 44 years ago, the coastal ‘commons’ have largely
disappeared as a legal entity with the declaration of Exclusive Eco-
nomic Zones by coastal states within the United Nations Conven-
tion on the Law of the Sea. However the concept of the ‘tragedy’
remains within these zones for user communities who witness a
continual degradation of coastal habitats and a loss of resources.
The legal declaration of large EEZ areas has been important for na-
tion states, but largely ignored by local communities, except where
governments have permitted access to those resources by foreign
exploiters and tourism operators. Three other major developments
have occurred since Hardin wrote that paper: many MPAs have
been developed that include no-take areas, although few are effec-
tively enforced to prevent illegal, unreported and unregulated fish-
ing; economies around the world have become far more integrated,
to the extent that many remote communities participate in the
‘cash economy’; and tropical tourism has become a major industry
with both positive and negative impacts on resident communities.
Garrett Hardin stressed that the application of solutions to the ‘trag-
edy’ lie outside the capacity of natural sciences. At that time, preservation
of nature was mainly through the designation of strict nature reserves
that excluded potentially damaging human activities. Since then, conser-
vation has evolved to include the role of human communities in sustain-
able management of the resources. An example was the Man and
Biosphere program of UNESCO in the 1970s (www.unesco.org/new/en/
natural-sciences/environment/ecological-sciences/man-and-biosphe re-
programme/), which aimed to integrate human sciences into an interdis-
ciplinary approach with natural sciences. It is obvious today that conserv-
ing coral reefs and related tropical ecosystems will require socioeconomic
actions and sociopolitical decisions, with less emphasis on expanding our
scientific knowledge of these habitats and resources (Bradbury and
Seymour, 2009). Thus, the conclusion of Garrett Hardin that solutions
lie outside the capacity of natural sciences is still pertinent.
Irrespective of the examples above, we seek to avoid the
pessimism that future human populations will be unable to reverse
the current rate of ecosystem decline without major changes to our
legal systems to excise large no-take areas of tropical coastal
8 C. Wilkinson, B. Salvat / Marine Pollution Bulletin xxx (2012) xxx–xxx
resources from the ‘commons’. The more optimistic approaches are
those adopted by Eleanor Ostrom and colleagues who consider that
many human communities have the inherent power to manage
natural resources to achieve long-term sustainability. These ap-
proaches probably constitute the only effective avenue for coastal
resource management and conservation in many tropical coun-
tries. But their application will require the input of considerably
more resources protected from corrupting influences, from local
and donor governments and agencies, in parallel with the develop-
ment of peer-to-peer support groups based on success.
In order to prevent an expansion of the ‘tragedy’, we continue to
advocate the use of the tried and tested methods for coastal con-
servation combined with improvements that include a more inte-
grated approach with affected human communities. This will
require both top-down and bottom-up approaches. Governments,
in partnership with international agencies and NGOs, can facilitate
coastal resource conservation by providing user communities with
the legal framework and capacity for active co-management of
these resources through capacity building, awareness raising, im-
proved education on the causes of degradation and possible solu-
tions, along with assistance to develop sustainable alternative
livelihoods. This will result in the local declaration, planning, man-
agement and enforcement of many more marine managed areas
that include significant no-take zones. There is currently a global
political impetus to designate larger areas of the sea under MPA
status, but there remain major gaps in the capacity of developing
countries to manage and enforce the areas already designated. This
impetus needs to be extended to actively involve user communi-
ties using approaches outlined by Eleanor Ostrom and colleagues.
They have identified mechanisms to tap into the inherent power
of human communities to manage natural resources to achieve
long-term sustainability.
Critical policy shifts are required: to remove the ‘burden of
proof’ from proving conservation is effective in conserving biodi-
versity and ecosystems; to convince governments to share power
with user communities; to markedly reduce population pressures
on coastal resources; and to assist small developing countries, so
that they are not requested to manage their coastal resources on
behalf of the ‘global community’ without adequate assistance.
Much of the above was encapsulated by E.O. Wilson ‘‘At the end
of the day, in a more democratic world, it will be the ethics and de-
sires of the people, not their leaders, who give power to govern-
ment and the NGOs or take it away. They will decide if there are
to be more or fewer reserves, and choose whether particular spe-
cies will live or die’’ (Wilson, 2002).
Hardin (1968) recognized that the solutions to the ‘tragedy’ will
not be easy, to quote: ‘‘The population problem has no technical
solution: it requires a fundamental extension in morality’’; and
‘‘To couple the concept of freedom to breed with the belief that
everyone born has an equal right to the commons is to lock the
world into a tragic course of action’’. Our long experience of
observing coastal resource degradation indicates that the only
long-term solutions will be through combating poverty and popu-
lation growth in developing countries, and by providing strong
economic and philosophical reasons for conservation, rather than
succumbing to short-term needs of economic consumption. This
will require tackling the root causes: expanding populations cou-
pled with rising poverty in these coastal populations; the expand-
ing reach and capacity of MNCs to exploit coastal resources;
ineffective and weak governance with low capacity; and global cli-
mate change. Unless the current rate of climate change can be rad-
ically reduced and preferably reversed, most direct management
activities will prove to be futile; there appears to be only a remote
chance of a consensus of global action in less than 20–50 years
(Bradbury and Seymour, 2009). Achieving these goals will require
making particularly difficult moral and economic decisions at local,
Please cite this article in press as: Wilkinson, C., Salvat, B. Coastal resource degradation in the tropics: Does the tragedy of the commons apply for coral
reefs, mangrove forests and seagrass beds. Mar. Pollut. Bull. (2012), doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2012.01.041
national and international levels. The progress since Hardin’s paper
43 years ago can sadly be expressed as ‘plus ça change, plus que
c’est la même chose’.
Acknowledgements
We wish to acknowledge many colleagues who discussed these
ideas with us, or read earlier versions and provided useful com-
ments. These include Charles Birkeland, Greg Brunskill, Bob Bud-
demeier, Chou Loke Ming, Jon Day, Terry Done, Helen Garnett,
Alison Green, Bob Johannes, Graeme Kelleher, Don Kinsey, Howard
Latin, Olof Linden, Russ Reichelt, Peter Sale, Robin South and Frank
Talbot. Two anonymous reviewers also provided valuable sugges-
tions. We dedicate this to Bob Johannes who was a pioneer in many
of the themes in this paper. The statements and opinions in this pa-
per, however, are ours; some of the above colleagues may disagree
with our statements.
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