Reefs at Risk: Coral Reefs, Human Use and Global Climate Change - A Programme of Action

For once, the popular mythology contains some truth. Coral reefs can be likened to tropical forests in certain important ways. Both reefs and jungles are biologically diverse in comparison with other ecosystems. Reefs are an essential supplier of protein to subsistence communities; a valuable currency earner for low-income countries through exploitation of their resources and through tourism; a protector of land; and a naturalist's paradise.