Understanding coral reef change in urbanised and tourism-intensive seascapes: Insights from Sanur, Bali

Coral reefs underpin biodiversity, coastal protection, and local livelihoods, but are rapidly changing in many parts of the world under the combined effect of diverse local and global stressors. While responses to coral reef change are proliferating, they often remain fragmented and poorly coordinated particularly in urbanised and tourism-intensive areas characterised by complex governance arrangements, multiple competing interests, and concentrated pressures. This study uses the Drivers–Pressures–State–Impact–Response (DPSIR) framework to systematise coral reef change in the city of Sanur (Bali), one of Indonesia's earliest tourism-intensive coastal destinations. Data were collected through 18 semi-structured interviews with stakeholders across government, local communities, NGOs, tourism operators, and the hospitality sector, complemented by ecological monitoring reports. The analysis reveals that coral reefs are changing under the combined effects of reinforcing Drivers and Pressures linked to unregulated tourism, wastewater discharge, and coastal development, that collectively result in a degraded ecological State characterised by live coral cover well below healthy thresholds. Diverse Responses aim at reversing these patterns, but are often localized, short-term, and undermined by institutional fragmentation. Spatial mismatches also characterise many Responses (especially those focusing on visible reef-zone interventions) which generally fail to address upstream land-based activities that generate wastewater and sediment inputs. The findings underscore the need for integrated, preventive strategies that bridge land-sea linkages, strengthen coordination between institutions/actors, and harness tourism as a potential enabler of reef protection. By systematising the dynamics of coral reef change in this urban and tourism-intensive seascape, our study contributes to debates on adaptive and participatory management in the Coral Triangle and other tourism-dependent coastal contexts.