They are powerful and at the same time beautiful, full of high-rise constructions. They have millions of inhabitants and are complex centers of diversity, of cultural clashes as well as collaboration. They are dangerous and seductive, a universal object of fascination. That was the point made by reef expert Robert Ginsburg of the University of Miami's Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science at a recent presentation at the IDB's Washington, D.C., headquarters.
Reefs are valuable for a variety of reasons.
They provide protection for shorelines and serve as a source of food. They are also one of the main tourist attractions in much of Central America and the Caribbean. In many respects, corals are like buildings, according to Ginsburg. The corals are like the bricks in a building, held together with calcium carbonate, an organic cement secreted by algae. The sand produced by the disintegration of reefs fills in the whole structure, resulting in a solid mass of wave-resistant buildings.