The contraposition of development is the assumption that nature will go up in flames. Balance is the name of the game, and Saudi Arabia is the reigning champion as one of its top universities has announced a Red Sea project described as the world’s largest coral reef restoration. The renowned King Abdullah University of Science and Technology initiative is taking up the responsible and noble cause of producing hundreds of thousands of corals each year in collaboration with Neom. This is an imperative step in an area that will experience breakneck development in the not-so-distant future, in addition to bleaching events due to rising temperatures.
The scheme ‘represents a significant step towards restoring reefs globally,’ according to the university. The project is already excelling with a fully functioning nursery on Saudi Arabia’s northwest Red Sea coast perpetually generating 40,000 corals annually. ‘KCRI is the largest coral restoration project in the world and represents a significant step towards restoring reefs globally with a primary nursery officially in operation and a second facility in development, both in the Red Sea,’ according to a statement.
Come December 2025, the project will be catapulted to a 10-fold larger capacity to nurture 400,000 corals annually. As is the case with most projects, the world’s largest coral reef restoration will align its goals with the Saudi Vision 2030 spearheaded by the visionary Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Nadhmi Al-Nasr, CEO of NEOM, said: ‘Through our longstanding partnership with KAUST, we will also highlight the role of coral reefs, among the most important marine environmental systems, and the value of their preservation for future generations.'”
