The Explorer’s Club, April 2017. Octavio Aburto awarded Rolex 2017 Artist-in-Exploration for Mangrove research. Octavio Aburto is a professional photographer and assistant professor at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla, CA. His research and photography have focused on marine reserves and commercially exploited marine species in Mexico, Belize, Costa Rica, Ecuador and the United States.

For his 2017 Artist-in-Exploration award, “MANGROVES: THE SKIN OF OUR COASTS,” Octavio will conduct four expeditions to four different mangrove forests located in the Tropical Eastern Pacific Ocean. Mangrove forests are quickly disappearing. We have lost nearly 50% in the last half-century.  Yet they are economically vital to local populations and in the fight for climate balance, mangrove forests store more carbon per acre than any other tropical forests. Read Full Article and contact Marisa@icfdn.org to learn more about how to support Octavio’s important mangrove research and work through ICF.