It's simple: Tiny animals build the great limestone sea walls, the banks and islands and atolls and archipelagos we call reefs, some of them hundreds of miles long, thousands of feet thick. These tiny builders we call corals. Corals have seen it all they were here long before the dinosaurs came and went but like any animal, when they're poisoned or dynamited, buried or crushed, smothered or cooked, they die.

   There are are very few places on the earth where man and coral reef live in harmony. What we do or don't do will determine whether coral reefs survive.

   Coral reefs are the most biologically diverse marine eco-systems on earth, rivalled only by the tropical rainforests on land. Corals grow over geologic time and have been in existence about 200 million years. Corals reached their current level of diversity 50 million years ago.

   The delicately balanced marine environment of the coral reef relies on the interaction of hard and soft corals, sponges, anemones, snails, rays, crabs, lobsters, turtles, dolphins and other sea life.

   REEF RELIEF is a nonprofit membership organizatiom dedicated to preserving and protecting living coral reef ecosystems through local, regional and global efforts. The means to achieve these goals are science, public education and advocate policymakers.

   REEF RELIEF's founder , Craig Quirolo, documents changes in the coral communities. One of his projects in the Florida Keys began several years ago through the cash prize accompanying the Robert Rodale Environmental Achievement Award, made possible by Rodale's Scuba Diving Magazine. The funding this year has been provided by the Turner Foundation, the Edith and Curtis Munson Foundation and others. However, "Nothing is isolated in this world. Everything is linked. Problems facing our coral reef, affect other coral reefs. Everyhing is part of the same puzzle. Not to recognize this is to limit true knowledge".

   Providing information and training to grassroots organizations and government agencies involved in protecting coral reefs world-wide and participating in internation coral reef forums are important activities of REEF RELIEF representatives.

   The organization's world-wide efforts to help establish grassroots coral reef organizations are an effective means to protect local environments, educate, and monitor programs established by local governments and big business. They are also an effective way to voice local concerns,to insure that different ways of life, traditional knowledge, and resources are not lost.

   Using the photomonitoring system developed by Craig Quirolo, islands and countries such with limited budgets, such as the Caribbean and Pacific, now have access to an affordable system enabling the monitoring of local reefs. The knowledge gained from this system is invaluable. It provides invaluable data concerning the overall health of a reef. Trends can be projected, priorities set, and critical areas targeted for protection. Just as important, information sharing with other areas is facilitated.