Coastal Zones and Climate Change examines the environmental stresses on coastal areas of the Indian Ocean and the resulting dilemmas confronting coastal managers and policy-makers in a warming world. It presents analyses by experts in the region and at Stimson. The work for the volume had its inception in a workshop cohosted by Stimson and the Regional Centre for Strategic Studies (RCSS) in Colombo, Sri Lanka, March 19–20, 2009. The papers by the experts from the region furnish close studies of crucial issues and actors. They examine climate impacts on coastal ecosystems, explore adaptation strategies, and illuminate the policy pitfalls and possibilities facing particular countries around the Indian Ocean rim. In the book’s concluding paper, David Michel ranges across these analyses and draws out a number of key themes. The workshop gathered experts from academia, think tanks, government, and NGOs to consider emerging climate risks and potential policy responses.