Financing marine conservation : a menu of options

Oceans cover 70 percent of the earth's surface, and more than one-half of the world's population lives within 60 kilometers of the coast. (Oceans, Coasts and Islands Web Service) The seas have been regarded as a global commons whose resources are inexhaustible and therefore free for the taking. But many species of marine life have become depleted or even threatened with extinction due to rapidly increasing human populations, pollution and runoff from industry and agriculture, and industrial-scale exploitation of fisheries.