Features

Celebrating Environmental Stewardship of B.A.M. and J.A.M.I.N. Graduates

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As the academic year comes to a close, we celebrate all the graduates out there. This year, I’m particularly filled with pride and excitement as I celebrate the achievements of my students in the Bahamas Awareness of Mangroves (B.A.M.) and Jamaica Awareness of Mangroves in Nature (J.A.M.I.N.) programs, who have successfully completed their first year. While this milestone might not have carried the same weight in previous years, it holds a unique significance for me because it marks the first cohort of students to navigate our programs after pausing the programs due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The B.A.M. and J.A.M.I.N. programs were created with the goal of nurturing environmental awareness and conservation among young minds. By immersing students in the world of mangroves—an ecologically significant and biologically diverse ecosystem—we aimed to instill a sense of stewardship for these invaluable habitats…

Science Without Borders: Our Approach to Co-Design

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Earlier this month, H.R.H. Princess Hala bint Khaled bin Sultan spoke about the importance of conducting science for sustainable development at the Third Foundations Dialogue Meeting in Monaco.

Hosted by the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation on behalf of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO, this high-level event brought philanthropic organizations from around the world together in an effort to align our efforts in support of the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development, known as the “Ocean Decade.” Together, we are helping the Ocean Decade attain ‘the science we need for the ocean we want.’

As the President of the Living Oceans Foundation, Princess Hala spoke eloquently about her own journey into marine conservation and the Foundation’s work to preserve healthy oceans for current and future generations. She also highlighted the value of embracing a philosophy of co-design — working with community members as equal partners when developing science-based solutions for ocean conservation. In her speech, she called upon the global marine philanthropic community to work together and reach across borders to find solutions that can lead to a healthier ocean for all.

See what she said in her speech from the opening session, which was attended by HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco, HRH Princess Lalla Hasnaa of Morocco, and Mrs Audrey Azoulay, Director General of UNESCO, along with many other esteemed guests:

The Third Foundations Dialogue Meeting

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Last week, the Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation (KSLOF) participated in the Third Foundations Dialogue Meeting, coming together with other ocean-focused foundations from around the world in an effort to align our efforts to support the science needed for ocean conservation.

Organized jointly by the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO and the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation, the Foundations Dialogue Group provides a platform for the philanthropic community to collaborate and work together to move the needle towards ocean conservation. Specifically, the group seeks to address how the foundations could align their efforts to achieve the bold ambitions of the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development, better known as the ‘Ocean Decade’.

The event was held in Monaco from June 14-16, 2023, and presented a unique opportunity to discuss how to enhance the role of the philanthropic community in co-designing the ‘science we need for the ocean we want.’ We also discussed how we can work together to support existing and future projects of the UN Ocean Decade.

Our Foundation’s president, HRH Princess Hala bint Khaled bin Sultan, spoke at the opening session of the Foundations Dialogue meeting, along with HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco; Mrs. Audrey Azoulay, Director General of UNESCO; and Their Royal Highnesses Princess Lalla Hasnaa of Morocco. In her speech, Princess Hala noted that since her father established the Foundation in 2000 to protect, preserve, and restore ocean health, that “we have made great progress over this period, but we have always known that to accomplish this great and noble mission, we could not work alone.” This was part of the reason we participate in the Foundations Dialogue, to work with others to advance ocean conservation initiatives worldwide…

Safeguarding the unique biodiversity of the Beqa Lagoon for future generations

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Bula! My name is Ulamila Matairakula and I am the Environmental Officer for the Pacific Blue Foundation (PBF). My work largely revolves around the Beqa Lagoon Seascape with interacting with local communities and villages about their marine resources. Being a Fijian …

Activities

Ready to dive into an adventure that will make you a true Mangrove Detective? Take on the challenge of investigating potentially diseased mangrove leaves in your very own local forest, and uncover the hidden secrets of the insects that could …

The largest natural explosion in a century

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Today we’re interviewing our Chief Scientist, Dr. Sam Purkis, about his latest research paper, which measured the size of the 2022 eruption of a submarine volcano in Tonga and the resulting tsunami.

Published in this month’s issue of Science Advances, the study found that the volcanic explosion in Tonga was the largest natural explosion in more than a century. The explosion was so large that it produced a tsunami that at one point was as tall as a 20 story building, and was similar in size to explosion of Krakatoa in 1883.

Q: What led you to do this research on the tsunami that hit Tonga last year?
A: It was the event itself that led us to start this study. We began work…

Measuring the size of a Tsunami

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How big was the size of the tsunami that hit Tonga last year? A new study led by scientists at the University of Miami and the Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation measured the size of the Tongan tsunami and found that it was similar in size to the one caused by the eruption of Krakatoa in 1883.

The 2022 eruption of a submarine volcano in Tonga was more powerful than the largest U.S. nuclear explosion, according to a new study led by scientists at the University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Science and the Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation.  

The 15-megaton volcanic explosion from Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai, one of the largest natural explosions in more than a century, generated a mega-tsunami with waves up to 45-meters high (148 feet) along the coast of Tonga’s Tofua Island and waves up to 17 meters (56 feet) on Tongatapu, the country’s most populated island.

In a new analysis in Science Advances, researchers used a combination of before-and-after satellite imagery, drone mapping, field observations collected by scientists at The University of Auckland, and high-resolution bathymetric maps from the Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation’s Global Reef Expedition, to produce a tsunami simulation of the Tongan Archipelago. The results showed how the complex shallow bathymetry in the region acted as a low-velocity wave trap, capturing a more than hour-long tsunami with waves up to 85 meters (279 feet) high one minute after the initial explosion.