It is not surprising why the global exploration nonprofit, OceanX, selected Southeast Asia to be its stop for the next couple of years. Four out of six countries that form the Coral Triangle–the world’s epicentre of marine biodiversity–can be found in the region. Being home to 76 per cent of the world’s coral species and 37 per cent of the world’s reef fish species, the Coral Triangle is also the source of livelihood and food of over 100 million people living in the area, according to the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). This sets the perfect venue for OceanX to conduct studies on the ocean environment, which aim to help inform science, policy and economic decisions.
A brainchild of Mark, and his father, Ray Dalio, the billionaire philanthropist behind the investment firm Bridgewater Associates, OceanX aims to tell narratives from the depths of the Earth’s waters by using state-of-the-art technologies for scientific research and media production. The father-and-son team is also behind the Singapore-based Dalio Philanthropies–a founding core member of the Temasek Trust’s Philanthropy Asia Alliance.
