Sustainable Marine Protected Areas

Blue Alliance Marine Protected Areas

Over 18,000 Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) worldwide safeguard some of the most biodiverse regions, offering crucial habitats for threatened marine wildlife, providing coastal protection, and enhancing climate resilience. They bolster local economies, strengthen food supplies, increase fishing incomes, and promote ecotourism, contributing to Sustainable Development Goals 1, 5, 8, 13, 14 and 17.

Well-managed and sufficiently funded MPAs are crucial to international efforts to “replenish biodiversity and nourish the growing human population” (IUCN, 2018). However, around 70% remain underfunded, limiting their effectiveness in conservation, community development and climate change mitigation. Increased funding is essential to maximise their potential.

At Blue Alliance Marine Protected Areas, our mission is to manage financially sustainable and effectively managed MPAs through innovative, self-sustaining conservation models that protect marine biodiversity while improving local livelihoods.

Since 2015, Blue Alliance has tackled insufficient management and funding for MPAs globally. Our conservation model rests on three pillars: adequate upfront and early-stage blended capital for sustainable MPAs, innovative long-term co-management agreements with governments, and trusted local community partners. This approach protects over 3,400,000 hectares of vital coral reef ecosystems, benefits more than 30,500 coastal community members, primarily low-income fishers, including women, and unlocks private investment capital.

Funding from the Levine Family Foundation will support our “Sustainable Marine Protected Areas” project, aimed at enhancing the financial sustainability and management effectiveness of five MPA networks in Indonesia, the Philippines and Tanzania.

Blue Alliance has previously implemented an innovative blended finance mechanism for managing the Turneffe MPA in Belize, one of the largest in the Caribbean. This model is both scalable and replicable. With the Levine Family Foundation’s continued support, we are accelerating short-term investment readiness for a pipeline of reef-positive businesses and advancing the development of a blended finance facility for MPA projects.

By creating investment-ready and financially sustainable MPAs, we are establishing diversified revenue streams through ecotourism, blue carbon initiatives and responsible community-based aquaculture. Our work generates new income opportunities for coastal communities while attracting commercial and impact investment into marine conservation, ensuring long-term benefits for biodiversity, livelihoods and climate resilience.

Connect with Blue Alliance Marine Protected Areas:

LinkedIn: @Blue Alliance Marine Protected Areas

Facebook: @Blue Alliance

Instagram: @bluealliance_mpa

Twitter/X: @BlueAllianceMPA

YouTube: @BlueAllianceMPAs

Website: www.bluealliance.earth