Through signs, pamphlets and exhibits, Basma's group teaches the Jordanian public how to use the sea without damaging it. Boaters are told not to drop anchors that can break the reef, and divers are discouraged from snatching souvenir corals or feeding the fish. JREDS also organizes cleanup dives and recruits schoolchildren to sweep trash off the beaches.

Even a princess can't do some things. JREDS lost a fight against construction of an Aqaba oil refinery, and though the society helped win a law against traps that ensnare precious coral fish as well as edible species, many fishermen still use the devices. Zipping by a culprit as she rides on a royal pleasure boat, Basma gives a shrug that is part resignation, part stiffened resolve. But mostly stiffened resolve.