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New Caledonia

The Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation explored the reefs of New Caledonia on the Global Reef Expedition, conducting extensive coral reef surveys and creating detailed maps of the seafloor. From October through November of 2013, KSLOF scientists worked in close collaboration with researchers from the Institut de Recherche pour le Développment (IRD), as well as experts from around the world, to document and map coral reef habitats and fish communities of the Entrecasteaux Atolls, Cook Reef, Ile des Pins, and Prony Bay.

This research mission was one of the most rigorous survey efforts undertaken by the Foundation. We felt it was important to survey the reefs of New Caledonia to not only aid in the conservation of these reefs but also to add to the Foundation’s global database on the status of coral reefs around the world. Spending more than a month at sea, scientists conducted 554 benthic habitat transects and 504 fish surveys and mapped over 2,600 square kilometers of seafloor habitats at 10 locations throughout New Caledonia. We used standardized survey methods and photographic assessments to measure live coral cover, algal communities, and coral diversity. We found some of the highest coral cover observed on the Global Reef Expedition—in an unexpected location.

Home to the 2^nd largest Marine Protected Area (MPA) in the world, the reefs of New Caledonia are some of the most beautiful and well-preserved we explored on the Global Reef Expedition. Our research provides new information on the status and trends of coral reefs in New Caledonia, including threats to coral reefs and patterns of recovery from past disturbances. It also includes baseline information on reefs inside Le Parc Naturel de la Mer de Corail, a new MPA established in April of 2014. The data collected on this research mission will be highly beneficial to the continued monitoring and management efforts for this park and may shed light on areas that need attention and more robust management.

The Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation has shared our maps and findings from the Global Reef Expedition mission to New Caledonia with government officials and marine managers to help preserve these beautiful reefs. We have also placed our maps and reports online, and encourage the public, scientists, and policymakers to consult these resources to identify areas that might require additional protection. New Caledonia already has some of the most advanced marine conservation efforts in the South Pacific. Still, we hope this research can inform ongoing management efforts and help ensure coral reefs throughout New Caledonia continue to thrive.

Meet the team

Global Reef Expedition: New Caledonia Final Report

The Global Reef Expedition: New Caledonia Final Report presents a summary of the Foundation’s findings from the Global Reef Expedition mission to New Caledonia along with conservation recommendations that could help preserve these reefs for future generations. It is available to download in both French and English.

Global Reef Expedition Final Report: New Caledonia

NOUVELLE CALÉDONIE – RAPPORT FINAL DE LA GLOBAL REEF EXPEDITION

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Coral Reefs in the South Pacific: A Webinar with SPREP

August 25, 2022

The Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation recently hosted a webinar with our partners at the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environmental Programme (SPREP). SPREP is an organization established by the governments of Pacific Island nations to protect and manage the environment and natural resources of the Pacific. Their 21 member states (including many we studied on the Global Reef Expedition) work together to achieve healthy and resilient ecosystems and support sustainable development for Pacific communities. Our webinar with SPREP allowed us to share our research findings from the South Pacific directly with people who are actively working to conserve coral reefs and coastal marine ecosystems in the region. This is one of the many ways we are sharing our knowledge and findings from the Global Reef Expedition with the countries and communities in which we worked.

During the webinar, we were able to share information about the work the Foundation completed on the Expedition, including our extensive outreach and education initatives, as well as our scientific findings. We highlighted the programs our education team developed over the course of the Expedition, the many outreach events we held, and provided a comprehensive discussion of the results of our research in the South Pacific as well as our work in the Indian Ocean and Caribbean Sea.

At the end of the presentation, we were able to share our ongoing partnerships and upcoming projects, including our ongoing partnership with the University of Miami to develop a reef resilience model, our partnership with NASA to map the world’s reefs, as well as our numerous education programs such as the Mangrove Education & Restoration Program, Coral Reef Ecology Curriculum, and Science Without Borders® Challenge. Lastly, we shared information about our endorsed UN Ocean Decade Project, Science Without Borders®: Conserving the Tropics, which will use science, outreach, and education to engage local communities to protect their coral reefs, mangrove forests, and seagrass meadows. This project will allow us to build off of our work on the Global Reef Expedition using a co-designed approach to further conservation of tropical coastal marine ecosystems, such as those in the South Pacific.

The webinar was attended by numerous government officials, marine managers, and stakeholders from throughout the South Pacific. Some of the attendees were people we had worked with on the Global Reef Expedition, but many were new and this webinar was a great introduction to the Foundation and our work. There was a great Q&A session at the end where we were able to discuss the findings and share more information about future partnerships.

As we take the work from the Global Reef Expedition to the next level, we are always looking to develop new partnerships to help bring the UN endorsed Science Without Borders® project to communities worldwide. Webinars like this, and partnering with SPREP, are important first steps in the implementation of the Science Without Borders® project and connect us with a network of people who are also working to protect, conserve, and restore ocean health.

What We Learned: Marine Protected Areas Work in Conserving Coral Reefs

December 14, 2021

Managing marine resources is a challenge for communities around the globe. On the Global Reef Expedition, we had the opportunity to visit protected and unprotected reefs in both remote locations and those regularly used by humans. The degree of protection varied, but we found that areas with the highest protection had the healthiest reefs.

Marine protected areas (MPAs) are a tool commonly used by governments and communities to manage their marine resources. An MPA can have varying degrees of regulations, including no-take and no-entry where no fishing is allowed and entrance into the park is not permitted, to varying permitted use that regulate the fishing and use practices. Some of the countries we visited, such as Australia (Northern Great Barrier Reef), Palau, and New Caledonia have large human populations utilizing the reefs and have prioritized establishing large protected and managed areas to conserve their nearshore reef systems.

Feature Destination: New Caledonia’s Coral Reefs Offer a Glimmer of Hope for the Future

November 6, 2020

SevenSeas Magazine By Liz Thompson and Renée Carlton Issue 62, July 2020 Scientists on the Global Reef Expedition explored New Caledonia’s remote coral reefs, some for the first time. In the South Pacific Ocean, at the edge of the Coral …

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