Ibn Sina Distinguished Professor Carlos M. Duarte (1960, Portugal) is the Tarek Ahmed Juffali Research Chair in Red Sea Ecology at the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), in Saudi Arabia, Executive Director of the Global Coral R&D Accelerator Platform, and Chief Scientist of Oceans2050, OceanUS and E1Series. Before this he was Research Professor with the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) and Director of the Oceans Institute at The University of Western Australia. Duarte’s research focuses on understanding the effects of global change in marine ecosystems, developing nature-based solutions to global challenges, including climate change, and developing evidence-based strategies to rebuild the abundance of marine life by 2050. Building on his research showing mangroves, seagrasses, and salt-marshes to be globally-relevant carbon sinks, he developed, working with different UN agencies, the concept of Blue Carbon, as a nature-based solution to climate change. He has conducted research across all continents and oceans, spanning most of the marine ecosystem types, from inland to near-shore and the deep sea and from microbes to whales. Professor Duarte has published more than 1000 scientific papers and has been ranked as the top marine biologist and the 12th most influential climate scientist in the world (Reuters).

 

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