Soil erosion, overfishing, and urban pollution persist

To help save the reefs of Tonga, get active with these groups:

Earthwatch Europe

Earthwatch U.S.A.

Clam Comeback: Volunteer Richard Chesher designed giant clam sanctuaries for Tonga's overfished reefs; here a Tongan girl holds a juvenile clam spawned the year she was born. Photo: Richard Chesher

Tonga's coral reefs suffer overharvesting of some species, notably that tasty Pacific Islander staple, the giant clam; volunteer-led efforts to revive the mighty bivalves have been successful so far. Tongan reefs are also marred by shipwrecks that are allowed to just sit there, but the greater threat lately comes from the Kingdom's king, Taufa'ahau Tupou IV, who told a London Independent reporter in 1996 that he might want to drain and landfill Minerva Reef's atoll so that surfer-toting helicopters can land on it. "The helicopters could fly surfers to the good breaks," quoth the monarch.