An Australian philanthropic organisation has committed A$35 million ($23.6 mln) to safeguard some 18 million square kilometres of global ocean biodiversity, as part of a wider A$240 mln pledge made to ocean conservation and research.
Minderoo Foundation announced overnight at the 2023 Our Ocean Conference in Panama it would commit the A$35 mln to the Blue Nature Alliance, a collaboration of five organisations that look to conserve of 30% of global ocean to increase its resilience against climate change.
Each partner commits $25 mln to support advocacy, governance, science, and financial sustainability through the legal establishment of ocean conservation areas, Minderoo said in a statement.
Other organisations that are part of the alliance includes the Pew Charitable Trusts, Conservation International, the Global Environment Facility, and the Rob & Melani Walton Foundation.
Minderoo’s funding commitment is part of the its wider Flourishing Oceans initiative, which includes ensuring 30% of the ocean is protected, eliminating plastic pollution, supporting the sustainable use of ocean resources, and supporting world-class research.
“This is a critical time for the ocean and for the many people who rely on it for their food and economic security,” said Tony Worby, director of Flourishing Oceans at Minderoo.
“Our commitment announced at the 2023 Our Ocean Conference is just the beginning of our journey to ensure the ocean is returned to a flourishing state.”
The company has made nine other commitments at the conference as part of the initiative, totalling A$240 mln.
That includes A$113.5 mln towards its Exmouth Research Laboratory in Western Australia, a state-of-the-art facility that is looking to attract leading marine scientists to study ocean health and resilience.
Another A$15 mln will go to the Global Fishing Index, an assessment of the state of global marine fisheries aimed at measuring a country’s capacity to achieve the UN sustainable development goals (SDGs).
The funding pledge also includes A$5 mln towards lifting the standards of flag state responsibility to ensure sustainable and responsible distant fishing operations.
Minderoo said ineffective flag state control remains one of the key issues allowing illicit activity at sea to continue.
The organisation said it had collaborated with partners and institutions to develop a programme to support flag state reform to clarify flag state responsibilities, provide guidelines, and improve oversight.
Other commitments include scaling plastic waste solutions in Indonesia, deep sea research, and applying eDNA for marine conservation.
“At Minderoo Foundation, we are dedicated to developing global solutions to protect the most ecologically sensitive parts of the ocean, and ensure all ocean resources are managed sustainably for the benefit of future generations,” Worby said.
Minderoo is the philanthropic arm of Australian mining billionaire Andrew Forrest, with more than A$2.7 billion in funds invested in social and environmental causes.
On Wednesday the organisation announced it had joined the Ocean Risk and Resilience Action Alliance, a multi-sector collaboration seeking to pioneer finance and insurance products that build resilience to ocean risk.
“We’re looking forward to collaborating [with Minderoo] on driving innovative finance and insurance solutions to build the resilience of climate vulnerable coastal people around the world,” the alliance wrote on LinkedIn.
By Mark Tilly – mark@carbon-pulse.com
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