Imagine dropping into a clear blue sea and finding a vast expanse of coral gardens and colorful fish that resembles nothing so much as an underwater Amazon. Welcome to the Coral Triangle, home to the richest concentration of marine habitat on Earth.

A few months ago, I visited WWF project sites here and saw firsthand the glory of the place—its fast-moving ocean currents, bright stretches of coral and rich populations of fish. We released tagged marine turtles, which headed back out to the ocean after laying their eggs. Now, three months later, we’re watching them navigate hundreds of miles as they traverse between feeding, mating and nesting habitats.

The Coral Triangle remains an unparalleled nursery for tuna and grouper that feed and sustain some of the world’s biggest economies. But threats are growing rapidly. We’re seeing coral and fish species diminished by climate change, fish populations depleted by overfishing and destructive fishing practices, and the great forests surrounding the Coral Triangle being destroyed at a higher rate than anywhere else in the world.

Old-fashioned conservation methods won’t work. Safeguarding ocean habitats, with vast ecosystems and ever-moving currents, remains inherently more complex than purchasing land to save it. That’s why we’re working closely with the governments of the Coral Triangle, like Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines, to create a working vision for protecting this extraordinary place. That vision includes a range of actions, from creating a network of marine protected areas, to working with local communities to better manage fisheries, to improving the management of coastal zones. As I write this letter the stars are lining up to protect this immense place. Heads of state, including Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and President George Bush, came together in September at the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit and declared the importance of the Coral Triangle, agreeing that its protection is imperative. And at last month’s UN climate change conference in Bali, leaders from the Coral Triangle countries made large-scale political commitments to save this irreplaceable resource, while financial institutions like the Asian Development Bank moved to create the financial mechanisms needed to make that happen. Of course WWF and our partners are working behind the scenes to make the Coral Triangle vision a reality. It could very well become the marine counterpart to the world’s efforts to save the Amazon. WWF’s unique local presence in all of the participating countries, and our long history and expertise in fisheries, markets, protected areas, and financial mechanisms makes us well placed to protect this treasure.

It’s time for marine systems to receive the same level of conservation effort as their terrestrial cousins. I cannot think of a better place to start than in this corner of the Pacific Ocean where a crown jewel demands our attention and our work.