Completed the Global Reef Expedition - Living Oceans Foundation

2021

Completed the Global Reef Expedition

June 24, 2021

In 2021, the Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation completed the Global Reef Expedition (GRE), the largest coral reef survey and mapping expedition ever conducted in the history of mankind. On this research mission, we circumnavigated the globe, conducted tens of thousands of underwater surveys, and produced maps of over 65,000 square kilometers of coral reefs—the largest collection of ground-truthed, high-resolution coral reef habitat maps ever made. The GRE’s treasure trove of scientific data was freely shared by a wide range of end-users, from marine managers to government officials to NGOs, and has been used to enact new conservation measures in several parts of the world.

HRH Prince Khaled bin Sultan formally announced the conclusion of the GRE at the IUCN World Conservation Congress. He chose to share the news at this prestigious conference, as it was where he first announced his intention to launch the Global Reef Expedition in 2008.

The GRE is one of the biggest accomplishments in the foundation’s history. It involved traveling over 53,000 km and spending over 20,000 hours underwater surveying the reefs to collect baseline data on the status of corals and reef fish around the world.

The GRE took place at a critical time, as the coral reef crisis continues to worsen. While the science team was conducting surveys, our education and outreach teams shared the foundation’s knowledge about coral reefs with community members, local and traditional leaders, teachers, and schoolchildren. They also created award-winning films to bring our research into people’s homes, and brought back valuable information to the scientists from the communities who relied on the coral reefs for their lives and livelihood. This collaborative effort allowed the foundation to have lasting impacts on the communities we worked with, helping us provide science-based conservation recommendations catered to the reefs we studied.

Global Reef Expedition Final Report

In announcing the completion of the Final Report, we published the Global Reef Expedition Final Report, which summarizes all of our findings from the Expedition. The report provides valuable baseline data on the status of the world’s reefs at a critical point in time and offers key insights into how to save coral reefs in a rapidly changing world.

From Dialogue to Action: Ocean Foundations Gather in Stockholm

What can philanthropy accomplish when foundations working across ocean science, conservation, and sustainable development come together around a shared purpose?

That question was at the heart of the 6th UN Ocean Decade Foundations Dialogue, held September 7–9 in Stockholm, Sweden. The Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation joined philanthropic organizations from around the world for three days of discussion, collaboration, and planning focused on accelerating progress during the second half of the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development.

Facilitated by UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC), the UN Ocean Decade Foundations Dialogue is a growing network of more than 30 philanthropic organizations committed to advancing ocean science, collaboration, and action. Since its creation within the framework of the Ocean Decade, the Dialogue has provided foundations with a space to exchange ideas, develop partnerships, and explore how philanthropy can help advance a healthy and resilient ocean.

Hosted by the Voice of the Ocean Foundation (VOTO), this year’s gathering began with From Depth to Action, an Opening Forum that brought nearly 100 leaders from the Swedish and international ocean community together at…

Meet IFAN: Helping Bring Navigate with Care to the Next Generation

If you’ve ever seen a lighthouse flashing from the shore or a brightly colored buoy bobbing in the water, you’ve seen Aids to Navigation at work.

Aids to Navigation, often called AtoNs, help mariners navigate safely. They can mark channels, warn of hazards, help vessels determine their position, and provide other information people need to make safe decisions on the water. Around the world, these systems help guide everything from small recreational boats to large commercial or container ships.

But safe navigation isn’t only about protecting vessels and the people aboard them. The choices mariners make can also affect the animals and ecosystems beneath and around them.

That connection between maritime safety and ocean conservation is at the heart of this year’s Science Without Borders® Challenge—and of our partnership with this year’s theme sponsor, the International Foundation for Aids to Navigation (IFAN).