Transforming management of tropical coastal seas to cope with challenges of the 21st century

Over 1.3 billion people live on tropical coasts, primarily in developing countries. Many depend on adjacent
coastal seas for food, and livelihoods. We show how trends in demography and in several local and
global anthropogenic stressors are progressively degrading capacity of coastal waters to sustain these
people. Far more effective approaches to environmental management are needed if the loss in provision
of ecosystem goods and services is to be stemmed. We propose expanded use of marine spatial planning
as a framework for more effective, pragmatic management based on ocean zones to accommodate con-
flicting uses. This would force the holistic, regional-scale reconciliation of food security, livelihoods, and
conservation that is needed. Transforming how countries manage coastal resources will require major
change in policy and politics, implemented with sufficient flexibility to accommodate societal variations.
Achieving this change is a major challenge – one that affects the lives of one fifth of humanity.