2009 Annual Report of the Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation
The theme for our 2009 annual report is “People, Passion, Progress.” That slogan truly captures the essence of the Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation. Given our scientific nature, I converted that slogan into an equation for success: People + Passion = Progress. It’s an equation that works well for us. We have a small, dedicated, passionate staff at the Living Oceans Foundation headquarters, but the success of our operations is vastly increased through our large network of affiliates. Our extended team of scientists provides resources, capabilities, and capacity, which add great value to our mission.
The operational highlight of 2009 was our successful research expedition to the Farasan Banks: a rich coral reef ecosystem in the Red Sea, offshore of the Saudi Arabian coast. Science Without Borders® was embodied by this expedition. We mobilized coral reef scientists from Saudi Arabia, Australia, USA, UK, Austria, and Egypt to work in unison aboard the M/Y Golden Shadow research ship towards the common goal of mapping and characterizing this remote reef system. The expedition marked the conclusion of our rewarding four-year research program in the Red Sea and our hope is that the results of our work will have a positive influence on the conservation policies of tomorrow. It has been said that when one door closes, another one opens. With that perspective, the conclusion of our Red Sea program heralds a new phase of operations for the Living Oceans Foundation—the Global Reef Expedition: Science Without Borders® program. Over the coming years, we will circumnavigate the globe aboard the M/Y Golden Shadow on an ambitious scientific expedition to study coral reef resilience and assist many countries with their coral reef conservation efforts.
People, Passion, and Progress were in abundance during our inaugural Fellowship Development program held at the Glovers Reef Research Station in Belize. Our Fellowship program gives competitive graduate students and post-grads the opportunity to reach their goal of becoming a marine scientist. It also helps us achieve our operational goals by increasing the Foundation’s research capabilities. Each Fellow’s research topic is directly aligned with our operational objectives. It’s a win-win situation. We are fortunate to have an amazing group of aspiring marine scientists enrolled in our Fellowship program.
Delve into this annual report to examine how we are contributing to the critical mission of conserving and restoring health to our vital oceans…
