A Coral reefs are found in shallow waters throughout the tropical world, and dominate the coastlines of many countries in the South Pacific, Southeast Asia and the Indian Ocean. It has been estimated that over half a billion people live within 100km of coral reef, with over 200 million living near reefs in South-east Asia and nearly 100 million living near reefs in the Indian Ocean (Bryant et al., 1998). While these figures are often quoted in the literature, it is not known exactly how many people depend on reefs, or what their level of dependence is. We do know, however, that there is a wide diversity of stakeholders.

B National and international interest in coral reefs is growing, for example as a focus for research studies by marine biologists; reefs are also increasingly seen as part of a national heritage, as a dumping ground for waste or a source of pleasure for tourists. Many of the people who live in adjacent coastal areas are, however, economically dependent on the reefs. Some of these local inhabitants are able to develop strategies that make full-time, regular use of the reef and its resources. Others can use the reef as a crucial safety net in difficult times. Still others use the reef as a resource that they tap into at certain times of the year, when they cannot earn a living from other resources. For these groups, coral reefs provide a complex range of benefits.

C The reefs are formed from the skeletons of minute sea creatures, and provide cover for a wide variety of plants and animals. Raw materials include seasonally stable supplies of food, building materials and medicines. As well as an immediate resource, these can also act as a medium of exchange, or a source of income and status. In addition, reefs often give rise to islands that provide habitats for people and lenses of fresh water for drinking and agriculture. They also provide a defence for coastal villages from storms and wave action, and protect lagoons and other productive areas, such as sea grasses and mangroves, which, in turn, provide a reserve of food in all climatic conditions. Furthermore, the physical structure of the reef dictates that many activities are done communally, and this means that work on the reefs can be socially unifying.

D Reefs offer multiple opportunities for direct exploitation by people with many different skills, as well as access to a wide range of different markets, including high-value export outlets. The structural and species diversity of the reef prohibits large-scale, industrial production, and favours small-scale production, thus preserving opportunities for those with few financial or physical resources. Furthermore, the fact that many reef resources are collectively owned means that people who are displaced from other sectors are able to share in them, especially in times of emergency, although the high degree of skill required to fully understand the reef limits the uptake of certain activities which require more complex harvesting strategies.

E For poor coastal households, particularly female-headed households and vulnerable groups such as the elderly, shallow coral-reef resources are often their principal source of subsistence and income. Unlike many other types of fishery, where women are excluded from working, coral reefs offer opportunities for women and the elderly because reef products can be collected on foot. This has significant benefits in empowering women in the household, and different reef-based occupations between men and women spread household risk. However, the ability of coral reefs to continue to provide benefits to the poor is now changing. Throughout the world the capacity of coral reefs to buffer risks and provide livelihood stability is eroding as a result of the diminishing availability of resources. This change is driven by a complex web of direct and indirect factors, over which the coastal poor have only a limited degree of control.

F One of the principal factors responsible for declining reef benefits is reef degradation: coral reef ecosystems are extremely sensitive to change, and easily suffer from disturbance. As coastal areas become ever more populated, increasing numbers of reef stakeholders compete for access to reef benefits. This situation has led to increasing pressure on reef resources, typically resulting in over-harvesting and reef decline. In addition, lucrative markets for reef species often drive unsustainable and destructive extraction regimes. The reefs are also degraded by coastal and inland developments and the pollution these produce, as well as by the natural impacts of storms and predator outbreaks. However, perhaps the most significant large-scale cause of reef decline in the longer term is climate change, which threatens to damage large areas of reef worldwide.

G For the poor, these changes have resulted in an increasing reliance on reefs, as larger coastal populations, widespread development, and increasing global-market forces overwhelm and degrade alternative resources such as farmland. However, in many cases coastal tourism developments, external markets and well-meaning efforts to halt reef decline have excluded them from access to reef benefits too. In these cases, livelihoods have often become criminalised by legislation, increasing the burden of risk and transaction costs on the poor, who typically have few other alternatives.