Hughes, Terry (2011) The future of marine governance. Solutions, 2 (1). pp. 1-3.

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Abstract

[Extract] A remarkably simple lesson has emerged from recent research into preserving marine resources around the world: concerted human planning and effort are effective in preventing further decline of marine ecosystems. Fundamentally, the deterioration of marine ecosystems signals a crisis of governance, and the widespread degradation of our environment is a symptom of inadequate, dysfunctional, or missing institutions.¹ Currently, most coastal and almost all oceanic fisheries lack effective property rights, leading to widespread depletion of stocks, while globalized markets pressure people to fish even harder. However, management of common-pool resources within the nearshore territorial waters of some countries has markedly improved in recent years, and some improvement has also been achieved at larger scales within the Exclusive Economic Zones (generally up to 200 nautical miles from the coast) of progressive nations. For example, Australia's rezoning of the Great Barrier Reef² and its designation of the adjoining Coral Sea as a new conservation zone represent a marked improvement in that country's marine governance and management. The major challenge globally, to overcome rampant free riding on the high seas, is to design new international agreements that reward cooperation and sanction violations.

Item ID:	26669
Item Type:	Article (Research - C1)
ISSN:	2154-0896
Date Deposited:	13 May 2013 02:34
FoR Codes:	06 BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES > 0602 Ecology > 060205 Marine and Estuarine Ecology (incl Marine Ichthyology) @ 100%
SEO Codes:	96 ENVIRONMENT > 9608 Flora, Fauna and Biodiversity > 960808 Marine Flora, Fauna and Biodiversity @ 100%
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