Underwater Eden: Saving the Last Coral Wilderness on Earth

Corals are dying off at an alarming rate, and their loss threatens more than 25 percent of all fish species, who depend on the food and shelter found in coral habitats. Yet in the waters off the Phoenix Islands, the corals are healthy, the fish populations pristine and abundant. This book tells the story of how authors Stone and Obura succeeded, against great odds, in establishing the Phoenix Islands Protected Area (PIPA). It’s a story of cutting-edge science, fierce commitment, and innovative partnerships rooted in a determination to find common ground among conservationists, business interests, and governments-all backed up by hard-headed economic analysis. Creating the world’s largest (and deepest) UNESCO World Heritage Site was by no means easy or straight-forward. This book takes us from the initial dive, through four major scientific expeditions and planning meetings over the course of a decade, to high-level negotiations with the government of Kiribati – a small island nation dependent on the revenue from the surrounding fisheries. Written by scientists, politicians, and journalists who have been involved in the conservation efforts since the beginning, the chapters brim with excitement, wonder, and confidence-tempered with realism and full of lessons that the success of PIPA offers for other ambitious conservation projects worldwide. Simultaneously an ode to the diversity, resilience, and importance of the oceans and a riveting account of how conservation really can succeed against the toughest obstacles.