Jeff Bezos Earth Fund has announced more than $25 million in new grants to support ocean conservation across five Pacific nations the Cook Islands, Kiribati, Papua New Guinea, Tonga and Vanuatu.
The funding will support the protection and sustainable management of more than 625,000 square miles of ocean. It is the second round of grants under the Earth Fund’s $100 million Pacific commitment bringing the total announced funding under the programme to $63.3 million.
Papua New Guinea is expected to use the funding to establish its first large offshore marine protected area, while Tonga plans to expand protected areas. Other grants will support the Cook Islands’ Marae Moana ocean park and habitat protection planning in Kiribati and Vanuatu.
The Pacific programme aims to help protect at least 30% of the region’s waters by 2030. A separate grant to conservation group Rare will support governments in developing proposals to protect biodiversity in international waters under the UN High Seas Treaty.
The new funding comes amid increasing concerns over ocean warming and acidification in the South-West Pacific. The World Meteorological Organization has reported growing impacts on marine ecosystems, fisheries, food systems and livelihoods.
Bezos pledged $10 billion through the Earth Fund in 2020 for climate and environmental causes, with the money intended to be distributed by 2030. According to the report the fund has awarded about $2.4 billion so far, leaving around $7.6 billion to be allocated.
The Earth Fund said its earlier grants have also supported marine conservation across the Pacific. Following the latest awards, it said 17 of the region’s 22 countries are now working on protecting or sustainably managing their waters.