Coral Reefs

'The decline of coral ... if it continues ... will mark the end of one of the great beauties of creation and the end of a great hope--that of discovering life forms hitherto unknown on the Earth ... Let us not forget that we are responsible to posterity for the preservation of the beauties of the sea as well as for those on land. We must learn how to make use of the biological and mineral resources of the oceans ... But we must also learn how to preserve the integrity and the equilibrium of that world which is so inextricably bound to our own.' - Jacques Yves Cousteau, Excerpt from Life and Death in a Coral Sea, 1971 This book reports on the World Bank's 5th Annual Conference on Environmentally and Socially Sustainable Development, which focused on some of the most urgent threats facing coral reefs today, including the growing use of cyanide fishing along some of the richest reefs of the world, unsustainable trade in reef products, and constraints to effective establishment and management of marine protected areas. The proceedings stressed the need for strengthening the policy environment while adopting economic incentives and improved resource valuation techniques, informing management decisions through targeted research and monitoring, and rallying public support through environmental education and the media.