The Maldives enjoys some of the richest marine biodiversity anywhere in the world. The country’s coral reefs are the seventh largest in the world, and the 21,000 square kilometers of reefs are home to 250 species of coral, which teem with over 1000 species of fish. This environment forms the bedrock of the Maldivian economy where fisheries and tourism, the two largest industries, and are heavily dependent on a healthy and diverse marine ecosystem. These two industries together account for three quarter of the jobs, 90% of the GDP and two thirds of the foreign exchange earnings of the country. Furthermore, the coral reefs help in the protection of the island from natural disasters and guard against the adverse impacts of climate change. In recent years however, the natural environment has been neglected. The biodiversity has often been taken for granted and environmental damage dismissed as a price worth paying short-term profits for. This important and timely study demonstrates that the protection of the Maldives’ biodiversity is not only vital for the country’s environmental health, but also as an economic and developmental imperative.