Study: Sanur’s coral reefs keep degrading because restoration skips the root causes

Sanur, on Bali's southeast coast, is a historic tourism hub. The local economy depends on visitors who come for beaches and shallow marine life. But a recent study published in Ocean & Coastal Management finds Sanur's coral reefs are steadily degrading despite multiple restoration efforts.

Field data and stakeholder interviews give a clear picture of what's going wrong. Ecological assessments show reefs near Sanur are in a "moderately to severely degraded" state. Once-extensive branching corals have largely broken down into rubble and are now overgrown with algae. Sites close to shore and popular with snorkelers are worse off than less-visited offshore areas.

The research team interviewed 18 stakeholders who influence reef use and management—government agencies, local authorities, community organizations, academics, fishers and tourism operators. Those interviews highlighted competing views about reef purpose: tourism attraction, fishing ground, coastal protection and blue carbon reservoir. That mix of priorities has led to a crowded governance environment where responsibilities overlap and coordination is weak.

Lead author Min Chung, a master's student at the University of Tokyo, told Mongabay that visible reef damage feels urgent, which pushes people to act on-site. But the study says that resource use would be more efficient if projects targeted the underlying drivers—better wastewater infrastructure, erosion control to limit sediment, and clear marine spatial planning.

The study also flags governance costs. Overlapping mandates and slow bureaucratic decision-making produce duplication, wasted funds and "decision paralysis." Small, well-intentioned initiatives can stall because they aren't assessed for how they contribute to system-level recovery.

• Reframe restoration efforts so they fit into an integrated recovery plan that addresses root causes first. Restoration and cleanups have a role, but only as part of broader measures.
• Invest in improved wastewater treatment and land-based measures to reduce sediment runoff into coastal waters.
• Strengthen marine spatial planning and regulation of boating and anchoring, and adopt clear codes of conduct for visitors and operators.
• Coordinate governance across agencies and stakeholders to reduce overlap, speed decision-making and evaluate projects by their system-level contribution.

The situation in Sanur mirrors pressures faced by other tourism hotspots: visible degradation spurs local action, but those actions have limited effect unless combined with infrastructure upgrades and coordinated governance that direct tourism revenues toward long-term reef health.