The Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation has achieved a great deal in the past year, due in no small part to our ability to capitalize on the data and expertise we gathered on the Global Reef Expedition (GRE) — the largest coral reef research mission in history. In 2022, we shared our findings from this landmark research mission with the international coral reef community, forged new collaborations, and launched a new U.N.-endorsed project to protect coastal marine ecosystems. We also continued our work to inspire and educate the next generation of ocean advocates and assess the health of coral reefs around the world.
To see a summary of our accomplishments for the year, check out our 2022 Annual Report. A few notable highlights include:
Sharing our knowledge with the coral reef conservation community
- Presented all of our findings from the Global Reef Expedition at the International Coral Reef Symposium (ICRS). This major international conference brings together coral reef scientists from around the world to share the latest in coral reef science and technology. The Foundation presented our scientific findings as well as our outreach and education initatives.
Advancing the science of coral reef conservation
- Improved the automated analysis of coral reef transect photos with our partners at Pacific Blue Foundation.
- Worked with our partners at the University of Miami (UM) to build a model that can predict coral cover and other metrics of coral reef health using open-source satellite data.
- Incorporated all of our coral reef maps from the Global Reef Expedition into NASA’s neural network to help them build accurate maps of all of the world’s coral reefs.
- Mapped the reefs of Lanai, Hawaii, with our partners at UM’s Aircraft Center for Earth Studies (ACES).
Supporting marine conservation initiatives
- Launched our newest program, Science Without Borders: Conserving the Tropics, which aims to help small-island nations preserve their coral reefs, mangrove forests, and seagrass beds. The program was officially endorsed by the U.N. Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development.
- Joined UNESCO’s Foundation’s Dialogue group to work with other ocean-focused foundations to address the major challenges facing our oceans.
- Discussed the role marine conservation plays in sustainable development at The Global Diwan’s Blue & Green Security Forum.
- Supported efforts to create a network of protected areas along the Saudi Arabian Red Sea coast, and helped to inform the Kingdom’s efforts to manage outbreaks of deadly crown-of-thorns starfish.
Educating the next generation of ocean leaders
- Launched new units on our Coral Reef Education Portal to teach students about marine conservation and food webs.
- Produced an Educator’s Guide teachers can use to delve deeper into topics covered by Dr. Sylvia Earle’s latest IMAX film, Ocean Odyssey.
- Returned to Jamaica to bring our mangrove education & restoration program to local high school students.
- Received hundreds of amazing entries to our student art contest, which this year focused on ridge-to-reef conservation.
The Living Oceans Foundation is proud of what we accomplished this past year, and we look forward to achieving even greater things in the years to come. We are already hard at work on new projects that help to further our mission to protect and restore ocean health by providing science-based solutions.
