Top Ten Largest Cities:

1. Tokyo, Japan (coastal)
2. Mexico Cisty, Mexico
3. Mumbai, India (coastal)
4. Sáo Paulo, Brazil
5. New York City, USA (coastal)
6. Shanghai, China (coastal)
7. Lagos, Nigeria (coastal)
8. Los Angeles, USA (coastal)
9. Calcutta, India (coastal)
10. Buenos Aires, Argentina (coastal)

In 1999 the world population hit six billion people -- nearly tripling in one century. In 2010, the global population surpassed over 6.8 billion and on course to increase to ten billion by 2030. And, in a historic turning point, there are more urban than rural dwellers.

With more people crowding into coastal areas, the greater the pressure on both land and sea. Natural landscapes and habitats are altered, overwhelmed and destroyed to accommodate growing populations. Lagoons and coastal waters are 'reclaimed', wetlands are drained and covered with rubbish, the floodplains around estuaries are built over and reduced, and mangroves and other forests are cut down. Ecosystems are damaged, frequently lost forever. Fish stocks, fresh water, soils and beach sands are often overexploited, at great economic and ecological cost.

Ironically, the great wealth of coastal areas, whether in terms of fishing, tourism, international trade, or natural resources, is what attracts these abundant populations, making them the seeds of its own destruction.