Professor John Burt gave a public lecture titled ‘From Data to Decisions: Harmonizing Coral Reef Monitoring to Shape Policy Across Eastern Arabia’ at The Yas SeaWorld Research & Rescue Center as part of the Emirates Natural History Group public lecture series. In this talk, Burt discussed the successes of Mubadala ACCESS in leading the UAE’s national coral reef monitoring program and how this has now been scaled to all regional nations as part of Burt’s leadership as regional coordinator for the Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network (GCRMN).

For the first time in the region, 40 reef experts from all eight nations bordering the Arabian Gulf, Gulf of Oman, and western Arabian Sea undertook a comprehensive assessment of the conservation status of the Arabian Gulf coral reefs. The researchers worked closely with national and regional stakeholders to validate findings. The resulting classification will not only inform UAE conservation strategies and national biodiversity reports but also contribute to global efforts to catalogue and protect vulnerable ecosystems.

John led a capacity-building training program focused on regional marine biology for the marine operations staff of Atlantis, The Palm, in Dubai. Burt opened the training session with a seminar exploring the regional marine environment and coral reefs before handing over the following sessions to NYUAD postdoctoral researchers Dr. Lucia Gastoldi, Dr. Trent Haydon, and Dr. Daniel Ripley to give presentations on their recent research findings. 

In partnership with the Environment Society Oman, we conducted an underwater coral reef monitoring training at the Ad Daymaniyyat Islands Nature Reserve in April 2025, funded by the National Geographic Society.

This second regional reef monitoring workshop brought together regional reef specialists to exchange past survey data and establish a standardized reef monitoring and data archival approach to implement moving forward. The objective is to strengthen regional collaboration and survey data interoperability, focusing on regional reef data collected over the past five years.

To identify pathways for climate adaptation, it is essential for climate change to be understood at the regional and sub-regional scales. This workshop gathered leading scientists from multiple disciplines to identify knowledge gaps, spur collaboration, and exchange data.

A harsh natural environment, rapid urbanization, and a warming climate combine to put increasing pressure on the environment of the Gulf Coast Countries. We propose gathering regional, academic, and governmental experts to discuss how to address the environmental challenges caused by these factors.