What we do

Reflections on a challenging but productive year

By all accounts, 2020 was an extremely successful year for the Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation (KSLOF). It was certainly a challenging year, but also a productive one, primarily because we were able to adapt to changes imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Although we were not able to travel to share our findings at international conferences or complete some of our Mangrove Education and Restoration programs, we published a record number of scientific reports from the Global Reef Expedition, and we were here to help teachers and students with the transition to remote learning.

2020 Annual Report

By all accounts, 2020 was an extremely successful year for the Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation (KSLOF). It was certainly a challenging year, but also a productive one, primarily because we were able to adapt to changes imposed by …

Announcing Finalists in the 2021 Science Without Borders® Challenge

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Happy Earth Week! One of the ways we are celebrating Earth Week this year is by announcing the Science Without Borders® Challenge finalists. Each year we choose an ocean conservation theme to encourage students and teachers to learn about different important ocean topics. Our goal is for students to not only learn about the theme through art, but also create artwork that inspires others to want to learn about it too.

The theme for this year’s art contest was “The Magic of Mangroves.” Students were asked to learn about the importance of mangroves, that are not only essential to the wellbeing of the planet, but also are an essential resource for humans too. Based off responses from our student surveys, many learned a great deal about mangroves and came to appreciate them. Here is what some of our participants said:

2021 Science Without Borders® Challenge Finalists: 15-19 year old students

The Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation is pleased to announce the finalists in our 2021 Science Without Borders® Challenge! This international student art contest engages students in important ocean issues through art. For this year’s competition, students were asked to illustrate …

2021 Science Without Borders® Challenge Finalists: 11-14 year old students

The Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation is pleased to announce the finalists in our 2021 Science Without Borders® Challenge! This international student art contest engages students in important ocean issues through art. For this year’s competition, students were asked to illustrate …

Can the Chagos Archipelago keep pace with rising seas?

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Having first visited the Chagos Archipelago in 2006, it was an immense pleasure to return with the Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation under the auspices of the Global Reef Expedition. Returning to the archipelago offered the chance to continue work that had been initiated nearly a decade earlier by other scientists—monitoring of the fish assemblages and health of the coral—but also begin new science initiatives.

Following the discovery of a rich portfolio of vintage aerial photographs for the Chagos Archipelago taken in 1963, we are examining the dynamics of the coastlines of the many islands in the archipelago in an effort to understand how low-lying atoll islands respond to rising sea level. Largely uninhabited, Chagos is one of very few places in the world where the behavior of islands can be tracked in the absence of artificial coastline modifications. That is, “natural” island behavior can be quantified.

Announcing 2021 Science Without Borders® Challenge Semi-finalists – Ages 15-19

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Two days ago, we announced the semi-finalists of the 2021 Science Without Borders® Challenge for students participating in the 11-14 year old category. Today, we are thrilled to announce the semi-finalists in the older group of students 15-19 years of age.

This international student art contest engages students in important marine science and conservation issues through art. The theme of this year’s challenge is “The Magic of Mangroves,” and students were asked to illustrate one or more of the benefits mangroves provide to people, other organisms, or the environment. They did not disappoint.

Once again, our judges were put to the test to make some incredibly difficult decisions evaluating the almost 330 pieces of artwork entered in this category. They came to a consensus to include 34 of these entries as semi-finalists. Like with the younger semi-finalists group, students used a variety of styles, techniques and media to portray the importance of mangroves. Some students created artwork that illustrates mangroves in their local community, while others drew inspiration from far off places. Overall, students in this category ranged from 13 different countries.

We would now like to invite you to meet our 15-19 year old semi-finalists:

Announcing 2021 Science Without Borders® Challenge Semi-finalists – Ages 11-14

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The Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation is delighted to announce the first round of semi-finalists for the younger category of students ages 11-14 years old, who participated in our 2021 Science Without Borders® Challenge. Each year we choose a different conservation focused theme for the contest. For the first time in its history, we chose a theme related to mangroves called “The Magic of Mangroves.” We asked students to create a piece of art that illustrates how mangroves are important.