A common assumption is that ecosystem services respond linearly to changes in habitat size. This assumption leads frequently to an all or none choice of either preserving coastal habitats or converting them to human use. However, our survey of wave attenuation data from field studies of...

The global decline in estuarine and coastal ecosystems (ECEs) is affecting a number of critical benefits, or ecosystem services. We review the main ecological services across a variety of ECEs, including marshes, mangroves, nearshore coral reefs, seagrass beds, and sand beaches and dunes. Where...

Empirical evidence indicates that in many developing regions, the extreme poor in more marginal land areas form a "residual" pool of rural labor. Structural transformation in such developing economies depends crucially on labor and land use decisions of these most-vulnerable populations located...