Coastal areas play a critical role in the economic and social development of tropical countries. The highly productive ecosystems found in these areas support a wide range of economic activities. Increasing populations and economic and social development place heavy demands on coastal resources, and often result in natural resource depletion, environ-mental degradation and conflicts over the use of these valuable resources. Coastal resources problems which stem largely from overexploi-tation are due- mainly to poor planning and management of resource use and allocation. Human use of natural resources in coastal areas must be effectively managed and envi-ronmentally sustainable if present and future opportunities for socioeconomic development are to be assured.