Because the reef protects the businesses on the shore in Mexico, it offers an incredible amount of economic value. Now, when it’s damaged, repairing it will be paid for. A 40-mile stretch of coral reef off the coast of Puerto Morelos, Mexico–part of the roughly 700-mile long Mesoamerican Reef, the second largest in the world–is both a draw for tourists and a natural barrier that helps protect the coast’s resorts from flooding and damage in hurricanes.