A coral reef – credit, Fascinating Universe
Bloomberg Philanthropies has identified a funding shortfall in the implementation of many countries’ ocean protection plans, and has attempted to fill it with a quarter-billion dollar donation.
The aim writ small is to translate the paper gains for ocean conservation and management secured with the passage of the UN’s new High Seas Treaty into real gains by helping to cover the cost of management and enforcement for small island nations that lack these resources.
The updated High Seas Treaty has been under negotiation for over 2 decades. Its passage secured major gains for the potential protection of critical ocean habitats.
While countries have now committed roughly 10% of the ocean to conservation and protection, many areas lack any tools for implementing management plans, enforcement, and long-term financing.
“Our new commitment marks the next phase of the Bloomberg Ocean Initiative,” said Patricia E. Harris, CEO of Bloomberg Philanthropies. “Over the years, we have made important progress in protecting our ocean, but we still have a long way to go. We look forward to working with partners to not only improve leadership and governance on the issue but also strengthen economies and safeguard the livelihoods of the billions of people who rely on the ocean every day.”
According to a press statement, Bloomberg Philanthropies will support expanded technical, legal, and policy capacity for small coastal and island nations engaging in global ocean negotiations, and implementing commitments under international ocean agreements.
This support will help countries advance ocean protections and manage them effectively, while the initiative will also expand the use of satellite monitoring, artificial intelligence, and public data platforms to improve transparency, accountability, and decision-making across the global ocean.
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Building on its longstanding work to reduce threats to climate-resilient coral reefs, the Bloomberg Ocean Initiative intends to expand its focus to include restoring reefs in areas already prioritized for long-term protection.
This work will explore new coral restoration approaches and pilot projects to restore reefs damaged by marine heatwaves, pollution, and severe storms. These efforts build on new findings from 50 Reefs+, which identified over 60,000 square miles of coral reefs across 71 countries and 99 territories with the strongest potential to survive climate change and support long-term resilience—read the GNN report on the finding here.
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The donation was announced in mid-June at the London Climate Week, and Bloomberg Philanthropies also released the list of partners on their initiative. It includes: the Aga Khan Foundation, Blue Ventures, Campaign for Nature, Earth Insight, Global Fishing Watch, the Joint 30×30 Funding Initiative, Oceana, Oceans 5, the Ocean Climate Diplomacy Initiative, Only One, Philanthropy Asia Alliance, National Geographic Pristine Seas, Rare, SkyTruth, the 30×30 Southeast Asia Ocean Fund, the Wildlife Conservation Society, and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.
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