King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) has collaborated with NEOM, the developer of Saudi futuristic city, to start working on the first nursery of the KAUST Coral Restoration Initiative (KCRI).

 

The newly built nursery, on the coast of NEOM in northwest Saudi Arabia, will transform coral restoration efforts with a production capacity of 40,000 corals annually. 

 

Functioning as a pioneering pilot facility, researchers will leverage it as the blueprint for large-scale coral restoration initiatives. Most importantly, this facility serves as a precursor to a more ambitious project: the world's largest and most advanced land-based coral nursery. 

 

This nursery, located at the same site, is an advanced coral nursery that will boast a ten-fold larger capacity to nurture 400,000 corals annually. 

 

Set on a 100-hectare site; the initiative will deploy two million coral fragments, marking a significant step in conservation efforts. 

 

With construction quickly progressing, the project is anticipated to reach completion by December 2025, it stated.

 

KCRI is the world's largest coral restoration project, aiming to restore reefs worldwide, said the university in its release. The primary nursery is already operational, and a second facility is being developed, both located in the Red Sea. 

 

It is funded by KAUST, a world-class graduate research university in Saudi Arabia, which was recently ranked as the number one Arab University by Times Higher Education.

 

Home to 25% of known marine species despite covering less than 1% of the sea floor, coral reefs are the bedrock of numerous marine ecosystems.

 

NEOM's CEO Nadhmi Al Nasr said this initiative demonstrates its dedication to sustainability and finding innovative solutions for global environmental challenges. 

 

As a pioneer in sustainable development, NEOM recognizes the importance of reviving coral reefs in partnership with KAUST, he stated. 

 

Through their longstanding collaboration, they aim to raise awareness about the significance of coral reefs as crucial marine environmental systems and emphasize the need to preserve them for future generations, he added.

 

KAUST President Prof. Tony Chan said: "Recent events provide a stark reminder of the global crisis that coral reefs face. Our ambition is, therefore, to pioneer a pathway to upscale from the current labour-intensive restoration efforts to industrial-scale processes required to reverse the current rate of coral reef degradation."

 

"As a significant output of KAUST's new strategy, the university is contributing the world-leading expertise of our faculty, who are working on technologies to bring this vision to fruition," he added.