In the last 50 years, Southeast Asia has undergone rapid industrialization and population growth. As human populations have grown, so have pressures on the natural systems that sustain us. Economic market expansion has stimulated the construction of ports, airports, cities, and other infrastructure often in ecologically sensitive areas. Coastal resources are being stressed at unsustainable rates. However, the exploitation is not only local in nature. The trade in live reef food fish and ornamentals has fueled regionwide overex- ploitation of lucrative species, often using destructive capture techniques. Many of the regions reefs have already been severely damaged. Better information about the location of reefs and their accompanying threats is critical to alleviating the many pressures that threaten their future. Yet in most areas, resource managers lack the information they need for effective stewardship of coastal resources. The Reefs at Risk project series is a valuable contribution to reducing this information gap.

The global analysis released in 1998, Reefs at Risk: A Map-Based Indicator of Threats to the World's Coral Reef, has been successful in raising awareness of the extent of human impact on coral reef ecosystems. It has also given the public useful information for evaluating relative threats around the world and identifying regions and countries most at risk. The analysis identified Southeast Asia as the region with the most threatened coral reefs. This new analysis. Reefs at Risk in Southeast Asia, draws on much more detailed information and a more refined modeling approach, and it benefits from input and review by over a dozen universities and institutions within the region. The analysis highlights the value of coral reefs across the region, identifies the threats, and shows what will be lost unless current destructive activities are curtailed. The report and detailed accompanying data will be valuable to local resource managers for identifying threats and developing plans to mitigate them.