Forests of the Red Sea

Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation will lead an all-star team of scientist divers on an expedition to study the "rainforests" of the Red Sea. State-of-the-art technology will enable the team to complete years of coral reef research in just three weeks. The research will focus on threats to coral health such as global climate change, ecotourism, over-fishing, pollution and development.

"This will be some of the most advanced coral reef environment research, with the fastest turnaround and major international impact, to date," said Philip Renaud, executive director of Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation. "Our findings will guide future international policy on coral reef protection and Marine Protected Areas management."

Coral health has global economic, social and ecological implications:

• Coral reefs support more than 25 percent of all marine fish species.
• Reefs provide fisheries with 6 million metric tons of fish annually. Industries based on coral reefs provide millions of jobs.
• The total value of the world's reef resources is approximately $375 billion each year.
• Coral reefs are a primary source of new drugs and biochemicals.

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