ABSTRACT
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 315 Indonesia’s Coral Reefs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 317
Physical Extent and Status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 317 Use of Coral Reefs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 318 Attitudes toward Coral Reefs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 320 Threats to Coral Reefs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 321
Management of Coral Reefs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 323 Current Status. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 323 Development of Governance Capacity. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 324 Toward Greater Decentralization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 324
Future of Coral Reefs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 326 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 327
A coral reef can not be described. It must be seen to be properly appreciated. (Hickson, 1889:28)
The distinguished English scientist Sydney Hickson visited the coral reefs of North Sulawesi (Figure 1) in the latter part of the 19th century. His descriptions of Indonesia are remarkably similar to those of current-day ecotourists. The spectacular beauty of the coral reefs of Bunaken, Talise and other coral reefs in North Sulawesi continues to attract thousands of divers and tourists.
