The Bahamas, Rabi'II 11, 1433, Mar 4, 2012, SPA - Prince Khaled bin Sultan, Deputy Minister of Defense, visited the headquarters of the Living Oceans Foundation (LOF), here yesterday, marking the end of the foundation's year-long expedition in the Bahamas. Addressing a press conference at the Atlantis Resort on Paradise Island Saturday with LOF's board members, Prince Khaled bin Sultan said “I think it is a very important expedition. It has never happened before in history. We are really trying to do something to encourage people to appreciate their reefs and oceans.” Prince Khaled founded the LOF in 2000. It is dedicated to the conservation and restoration of oceans of the world, and champions their preservation through research and education. The prince visited the Bahamas to mark the end of the first year of its five-year Global Reef Expedition, a worldwide study of the health of coral reef environments. He said that it was important that the expedition began in the Bahamas. “We felt the feedback from the Bahamas and the seriousness of protecting the reef made the Bahamas the first country,” so the foundation could “learn and improve” on its methods for its future expeditions, the Prince said. Prince Khaled said that he founded the LOF because his experiences in diving gave him an appreciation for coral reefs. “It started with diving. The first time I dove was in 1991. It was beautiful. The coral reef is life. Two years later, we saw things deteriorate so fast. The best thing to do is to start helping,” the Prince said. --MORE
