Growing the Field
As a complement to our place-based work, we are cultivating the global enabling conditions that are necessary to reach the ambitious goal of protecting 30% of the world’s oceans.
What is it going to take to protect 30% of our ocean by 2030? And how do we ensure those protections are effective, equitable, and durable?
Scaling up place-based work led by local champions is essential. Each new ocean conservation area is part of a global mosaic, offering inspiration for other countries and communities to build from. But site-by-site work alone is insufficient. To reach 30%, we must also cultivate the enabling conditions for marine conservation measures around the world to succeed.
We need more evidence of what forms of protection work best across different contexts and knowledge systems. We need a massive global workforce of skilled marine management professionals. We need political and community champions who understand the importance of ocean conservation. And we need much more funding to sustain protections over the long term.
The Blue Nature Alliance’s team of technical experts work to grow the field of large-scale ocean conservation by identifying the most critical global barriers to effectively protecting 30% of the world’s oceans and then working with networks of partners to unlock solutions.
Our Growing the Field work is both woven into and complementary to our place-based work.
Our Growing the Field Portfolio Spans Four Disciplines
As the world works to expand ocean protections, we must ensure that these protections are placed and designed to optimize benefits to both nature and people. Our Science and Knowledge team resources, catalyzes, and collaborates on scientific studies to advance knowledge on marine protected area effectiveness.
Our Science and Knowledge team brings a broad range of experience across the fields of marine and conservation science, including social science, climate change, sustainable fisheries, ecology and evolutionary biology, ecosystem modeling, and more. The team works to identify and address the most important science, knowledge, and research needs to build global momentum for 30x30 and to support individual large-scale ocean conservation areas.
Together with our partners, we are exploring questions such as:
- What impact do large-scale MPAs have on migratory species?
- How can MPAs be designed to adapt to a changing climate?
- Under what conditions do MPAs generate human-well benefits and advance social equity?
- How do we solve the biodiversity data crisis to better understand biodiversity impacts of MPAs?
Our experts are also teachers – sharing knowledge and emerging science with partners so that our work can be durable, sustainable, and replicable. They serve as champions and conveners, conducting public outreach activities and bringing visibility to our collective work. This includes giving scientific talks and webinars, attending workshops and conferences, teaching courses, and contributing to publications that advance the broader field.
Achieving ocean conservation at scale requires a substantial increase of human, technical, and institutional capacities. To address this need, our Capacity and Learning team supports marine managers and networks by sharing approaches, tools, and lessons and investing in professional development programs.
The Alliance Capacity and Learning team is cultivating a community of practice that equips marine managers with the tools, expertise, and resources necessary to catalyze durable management and conservation effectiveness.
This area of work includes:
- Investing in regional and global partnerships that provide ongoing capacity support systems for MPA professionals;
- Convening global capacity development leaders to innovate and scale MPA capacity delivery; and
- Driving the collection and sharing of lessons learned, knowledge, and resources on effective ocean conservation at scale.
Our Global Policy and Advocacy work cultivates political champions and advocates, leverages international events and convenings to advance ocean conservation priorities, and supports the delivery of political strategies in sites.
A current area of focus is the high seas, as it will be nearly impossible for the world to meet its 30% target without a plan to establish protected areas beyond national jurisdiction. We support the ratification of the High Seas Treaty and are laying the groundwork for new protections in waters beyond national jurisdiction.
Sufficient funding for protected areas is essential for effective management. Yet the financing gap remains one of the largest obstacles to scaling effective ocean conservation globally. Our dedicated conservation finance team provides technical and other resources to build conservation finance strategies where we work, while also incubating and piloting new innovative financing models.
Our Conservation Finance experts work to identify and design innovative financial mechanisms in our sites. We also focus on innovative approaches that could unlock conservation finance for marine protection at a global scale.
The team supports specific sites on their conservation finance journey in a multitude of ways, including:
- Early-stage ideation and assessment of appropriate sustainable financing mechanisms;
- Advanced deal structuring support; and
- Local conservation finance capacity building.
Our experts are committed to sharing knowledge, building capacity in conjunction with our Capacity and Learning team, and facilitating partnerships and collaborations beyond the Alliance network.
We will only achieve impact at the pace and scale needed if we collaborate, embrace, and align with others. Reach out to learn how we might work together.
