Geneva, 10 July 2024 – In the face of increasing threats to coral ecosystems and the recent announcement of a fourth global coral bleaching event, the Global Fund for Coral Reefs (GFCR) Executive Board has announced over US$25 million in additional grant funding to scale-up resilience efforts across coral nations. Announcements include a new blended finance programme for Egypt’s Red Sea, funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
RELEVANT SUSTAINABLE GOALS
“Without collective action at pace and scale, scientists estimate that 90% of remaining coral reefs may be lost by 2050, with dire consequences for the communities and economies they support. To face this crisis, the GFCR Coalition has established a robust portfolio of innovative, market-based solutions spanning 23 nations to protect critical coral reef refugia – Earth’s most resilient reef ecosystems,” said Peter Bryant, Builders Initiative’s Program Director for Oceans, and GFCR Executive Board Member. “The new GFCR announcements, representing an increase of more than US$25 million for resilience-based efforts, will aid the sustainable blue transition of local economies and unlock greater conservation funding flows for generations to come.”
A new GFCR programme, Egyptian Red Sea Initiative, aims to increase the protection of one of the longest-living and most resilient reef ecosystems in the world. Supported by a major funding commitment from USAID, this initiative, in partnership with the Government of Egypt and the UN Development Programme (UNDP), will establish a landmark Egyptian Fund for Coral Reefs to leverage up to US$50 million in private and public funding for sustainable blue economic transition and conservation efforts. Additional market-based solutions to be supported by a coral reef business incubator, include organic waste recycling for coastal farming, aquaculture to support ecosystem restoration, and mooring systems to avoid boat-related reef damage.
“The Egyptian Red Sea Initiative is a ground-breaking collaboration in blended finance to conserve Egypt’s coral reefs. USAID, in partnership with the Government of Egypt, international and local organisations, and private and non-profit donors and investors, is committed to safeguarding the Red Sea’s vital ecosystem and the communities it supports, while promoting economic growth and sustainable development for the Egyptian people,” said Sean Jones, Mission Director, USAID Egypt.
New GFCR Executive Board announcements also include funding uplifts for the Mesoamerican Region (MAR), country programmes in Indonesia and the Philippines, as well an initiative on Pemba Island, Zanzibar.
In the Philippines, which hosts the world’s third-largest coral reef area, the GFCR-supported programme led by Blue Alliance Marine Protected Areas has already unlocked catalytic donor and impact investor funding to operationalise a Marine Protected Area (MPA) Impact Loan Facility. New GFCR support will scale implementation to cover more than 100 MPAs hosting 80,000 hectares of significant coral refugia coverage and increase the resilience of more than two million members of coastal communities. The funding uplift will expand reef-positive business solutions spanning ecotourism, community-based aquaculture, and sustainable fisheries, incorporated in the programme’s MPA finance strategy.
In Indonesia, located in the heart of the Coral Triangle, the additional support from the GFCR will help ensure sustainable long-term funding for effective MPA management and financing access for reef-positive enterprises. With an emphasis on supporting local women, the increased funding seeks to enable the growth of at least 10 additional reef-positive businesses, including community-led seaweed hatcheries and handling facilities, ecotourism ventures, and sustainable aquaculture.
“Innovation to support the acceleration and scale-up of models in effective MPA management that links with coral-positive business is critical to support Indonesia’s Blue Economy vision. Our vision is grounded in protecting coastal and marine ecosystems that provide food security, livelihoods for communities and support the growth of the nation,” said Meizani Irmadhiany, Senior Vice President & Executive Chair of Konservasi Indonesia. “GFCR’s support provides catalytic funding to strengthen effective management and funding flows to MPAs, create innovative models to scale impact through support in sectors such as responsible tourism, seaweed and fisheries development that incentivize the long-term protection of critical coral reef habitats.”
In the MAR, home to the largest reef barrier in the Western Hemisphere, the GFCR is funding the MAR+Invest programme to contribute to reef and community resilience through blended finance and to address local drivers of ecosystem degradation such as mounting pressures from the surge of tourism, proliferation of sargassum, and expansive agriculture and aquaculture.
Now in its second phase, the MAR+Invest partners are scaling a regional portfolio of market-based solutions – including ecotourism, sustainable aquaculture, sargassum management, and scaling of circular economy practices – in Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico. These solutions are instrumental to achieving the programme’s 2030 targets: 60,000 hectares of coral reefs under improved management; three million community members with increased resilience; and US$60 million leveraged in public and private finance.
“The Global Fund for Coral Reefs has played a pivotal role in supporting MAR+Invest’s transformative efforts to protect coral reefs and the communities dependent on them in the Mesoamerican Reef region. By addressing critical funding gaps and promoting innovative market solutions, MAR+Invest aims to safeguard these vital ecosystems while enhancing local livelihoods,” said María José González, Executive Director at the Mesoamerican Reef Fund. “We extend our sincere gratitude to GFCR for their invaluable support in developing a blended finance mechanism in the region. This initiative advances market solutions that generate revenue and positively impact the health of our reefs, fostering sustainable development and enhancing the resilience and well-being of the largest coral reef in the Atlantic Ocean.”
New funding support was also announced for the Blue Alliance-led initiative in Pemba Island, Zanzibar, home to 50% of Tanzania’s coral reefs and a wealth of vulnerable marine species. The blended finance programme on the North Pemba Channel Conservation Area leverages locally led enterprises to protect coral reefs and promote inclusive prosperity. The initiative will enable the growth of seven reef-positive business solutions contributing to the sustainable finance and management of 27,000 hectares of marine protected areas. The programme’s 2030 objectives include the regeneration of approximately 4,200 hectares of coral reefs, support for at least 15,000 fisher and coastal community member livelihoods, and a minimum of US$15 million funding from impact commercial investors through its blended finance impact facility.
“Leveraging US$25 million USD to scale up resilience efforts across coral nations is an incredible lift, and particularly for the newly launched programme in Egypt’s Red Sea. I visited the Red Sea and the Ras Mohammed National Park in October 2022 with UNEP’s Goodwill Ambassador Ellie Goulding in the lead up to COP27 in Sharm el-Sheikh. The experience of seeing such a healthy reef was a defining and poignant moment for all of us, knowing it will almost certainly disappear, if we fail to invest in the resilience of this and other ecosystems like it,” said Leticia Carvalho, Head of Marine and Freshwater Branch of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and GFCR Executive Board Co-Chair.
“As we approach the 2025 UN Ocean Conference, we must wake up to the urgency and recognize what’s at stake: the functional extinction of an entire ecosystem. And the opportunity to be the first generation to save one. Urgent and scaled collective action must be mobilised,” she added.
As the leading global coral finance instrument, the GFCR aims to increase the protection and resilience of at least three million hectares of coral reefs globally by 2030 – representing 25 per cent of the Coral Reef Breakthrough target and approximately 12% of reefs remaining on Earth. With full capitalisation, the GFCR Coalition will aim to leverage up to US$3 billion in public and private finance for the benefit of marine ecosystems, coastal communities, and economies.
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