The livelihood of many coastal communities in the Pacific Islands is directly dependent on the health of adjacent
coral reefs. Reduction in water quality and over-harvesting of herbivorous fish are known to drive reef ecosystems
towards a more degraded state. Community-based resource management practices have the potential to improve
damaged reefs but quantitative data on their effectiveness remains largely unreported. This study investigated how
land use changes and implementation of marine management influenced water quality, herbivorous fish biomass and
reef condition of Marovo Lagoon in the Solomon Islands. Four study sites were located along a gradient of water quality,
with two of the sites located inside marine protected areas (MPAs) designated in 2006. The results suggest that water
quality in coastal areas adjacent to catchments modified by logging was negatively impacted. However, following natural
revegetation of bare soil in the catchment between 2000 and 2010, water quality improved at all sites. The biomass of
herbivorous fish was significantly greater in the MPAs compared to other sites and, importantly, we detected an increase
in herbivore biomass between 2005 and 2008. Inshore reefs adjacent to logging operations had significantly lower coral
cover and higher macroalgal cover than those offshore. Between 2005 and 2008 all sites showed an increase in crustose
coralline algae cover and a decrease in turf algae colonising rocks, with the changes indicative of improving reef health.
Collectively, these results indicate that reduction in logging and implementation of community-based management can
have a positive influence on reefs in Marovo Lagoon.