More recent examples also include studies demonstrating reduced sediment and nutrient fluxes from agricultural

land use (Chu et al., 2009, Duarte et al., 2009, GEF-UNDP, 2006, Pastuszak et al., 2012, Stålnacke et al., 2003 and Windolf et al., 2012). These examples provide us with the following insights into effective management of agricultural pollution. First, the desired outcomes of agricultural management for coral reef ecosystems need to be clearly defined, and underpinned by knowledge of the processes that determine the trajectories of ecosystem recovery. The substantial large-scale and long-term decline in coral reef condition over recent decades (Bruno and Selig, 2007, De’ath et al., 2012 and Gardner

et al., 2003) has, in part, been linked to agricultural pollution. Attempts to reverse this decline, however, Vorinostat manufacturer are generally constrained to improving agricultural and land-based pollution per se ( Brodie et al., 2012 and Richmond et al., 2007) without due consideration of the effort required to achieve desired outcomes for coral reefs. Consequently, many management efforts are not targeting the critical sources and ecological processes that underpin the pollution problem being remedied ( Palmer, 2009). Similar to temperate systems, a return to a particular past state may be unlikely, and other perturbations such as climate change, overfishing, and invasion by non-native species may prevent a simple reversal of coastal ecosystem degradation following improvements to upstream water quality ( Duarte et al., 2009, Jurgensone et al., Sirolimus supplier 2011 and Oguz

and Velikova, 2010). Hence, when linking the implementation of agricultural management targets to ecosystem condition in reef waters, a range of possible outcomes with associated trajectories should be considered ( Palmer, 2009 and Perry and Smithers, Non-specific serine/threonine protein kinase 2011). Second, management approaches that have resulted in reduced agricultural pollution to coastal ecosystems have all been non-voluntary (Boesch, 2002, Chu et al., 2009, Cloern, 2001, GEF-UNDP, 2006, Pastuszak et al., 2012, Stålnacke et al., 2003 and Windolf et al., 2012), indicating that voluntary approaches alone may not be sufficient to achieve improvements. These reductions were achieved through legislation and regulation supported by long-term political commitment (e.g. China, Denmark) (Shi and Shao, 2000 and Windolf et al., 2012) or declining economic subsidies, fertilizer use and livestock numbers following the collapse of the Soviet Union (eastern Europe) (GEF-UNDP, 2006, Jankowiak et al., 2003, Pastuszak et al., 2012 and Stålnacke et al., 2003). In Denmark, for example, five national action plans were implemented and enforced to improve waste water treatment, and regulate N fertilizer and manure use over two decades (Kronvang et al., 2008 and Windolf et al., 2012).