ABSTRACT
Conserving the environment remains one of the most important and emotive issues of modern times, featuring prominently in newspapers, political manifestos and popular entertainment. Certain elements of the natural world have always attracted more public support and attention than others within western societies; from the rainforests to whales and elephants. Tropical coral reefs fall into this category, in large part due to their aesthetic beauty and association with tropical idylls. More importantly, over the last 25 years a deeper global understanding has developed of the importance of these complex ecosystems in sustaining life on earth – including humankind – as well as the problems they are facing and the action needed to conserve them. Yet before this book, stake-holders, conservationists, academics, and marine environment regulators and managers have had few resources at their disposal assessing in-depth the international environmental law response for supporting the conservation of these ecosystems.
