Launch of the Global Fund for Coral Reefs

New York/Nairobi, 16 September 2020 – A new, first of its kind fund to protect coral reefs was officially launched today on the sidelines of the 75th Session of the UN General Assembly, with a coalition of partners convening to mobilise resources to make coral reefs more resilient. The Global Fund for Coral Reefs seeks to raise and invest USD $625 million in coral reef conservation over the next 10 years.

The Fund, a finance instrument that blends private and public funding, will also support businesses and finance mechanisms that improve the health and sustainability of coral reefs and associated ecosystems while empowering local communities and enterprises.

Found in over 100 countries and territories globally, coral reefs support a quarter of all marine life—up to 1 million species. They also provide at least half a billion people with jobs and food while protecting coastlines from storms and flooding. Despite their immense value and immense vulnerability, the protection of coral reefs has been underfunded on a global scale.

Coral reefs are recognized as a critical ecosystem in the post-2020 Biodiversity Framework, and a recommendation by the International Coral Reef Initiative (ICRI) calls for protection of coral reefs. According the recently released fifth Global Biodiversity Outlook, coral reefs have “shown the most rapid increase in extinction risk of all assessed groups” due to human pressures, including climate change.

Inger Andersen, the Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), said: “We have great opportunities for global collaboration on coral reef protection, management and restoration coming up with the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development, and the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration. We urge the global community to come together to capitalize this critical Fund in order to change the trajectory for coral reefs and save this precious ecosystem.”

The Global Fund for Coral Reefs has a dual focus: to facilitate the uptake of innovative financing mechanisms, including private market-based investments focused on coral reef conservation and restoration. Two, to unlock financing for coral reef-related climate adaptation through the Green Climate Fund, Adaptation Fund, and multilateral development banks.

The multi-party initiative to mobilise resources for the Fund includes public, philanthropic, and private actors, including: the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation, Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation, BNP Paribas, Althelia Funds, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), UNEP, and UN Capital Development Fund (UNCDF), putting a spotlight on unique partnerships towards coral protection and SDG 14, on ‘Life Below Water’. The two-hour high-level event will kickstart fundraising efforts for the global fund and will showcase the innovative finance instrument geared at mobilizing resources for the resilience of corals, one of Earth’s richest sources of biodiversity and the communities that rely on them.

At today’s High-Level meeting, the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation—one of the co-founders of the Fund—made a presentation of Monaco’s commitment to safeguarding oceans and the origin of the Fund concept at the Ocean week workshop in 2018.

His Serene Highness Prince Albert II of Monaco said: “Coral reefs are marine ecosystems that are essential for the conservation of marine biodiversity. They are severely affected by climate change, and many of them are in danger of eventually disappearing. To address this situation, my Foundation and the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation have taken the initiative to support the setting up of an international financial mechanism to marshal private and multilateral resources that will help to improve scientific knowledge and promote practical solutions to save these reefs. I urge anybody who wants to protect biodiversity to join our initiative.”

The Fund will play an important role in conserving and restoring these critical ecosystems, which are under threat around the world – a 2018 report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change warns that, even if we collectively manage to stabilize global surface temperatures to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, 70 to 90 per cent of coral reefs will be lost by the middle of this century.

The Administrator of the UN Development Programme (UNDP), Achim Steiner, said: “Innovative finance for conservation is a central pillar of UNDP’s strategy. Without nature, many SDGs cannot be achieved. As the world’s first UN multi-partner trust fund for SDG14, the Global Fund for Coral Reefs will unleash the power of private sector financing for conservation while supporting countries to rebuild and enhance resilience to COVID-19 and other shocks.”

The Paul G. Allen Family Foundation, the other co-founders, also presented their ongoing efforts to save coral reef ecosystems and the interest from the private philanthropy sector to build partnerships with the Member States and the private sector.

NOTES TO EDITORS

About the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation

For more than four decades the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation has focused on changing the trajectory of some of the world’s toughest problems. Founded by philanthropists Jody Allen and the late Paul G. Allen, co-founder of Microsoft, the foundation initially invested in community needs across the Pacific Northwest with a focus on regional arts, under-served populations, and the environment. Today, the foundation supports a global portfolio of frontline partners working to preserve ocean health, protect wildlife, combat climate change, and strengthen communities.

About the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation:

In June 2006, HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco established his Foundation to address our planet’s alarming environmental situation. The Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation is dedicated to the protection of the environment and the promotion of sustainable development on a global scale. The Foundation supports initiatives of public and private organizations, in the fields of research and studies, technological innovation and socially aware practices. The Foundation supports projects in three main geographical zones, the Mediterranean Basin, the Polar Regions and the Least Developed Countries and focuses its efforts on three main areas: climate change, biodiversity and water resources.

About the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)

UNDP is the leading United Nations organization fighting to end the injustice of poverty, inequality, and climate change. Working with our broad network of experts and partners in 170 countries, we help nations to build integrated, lasting solutions for people and planet.

About the UN Environment Programme

UNEP is the leading global voice on the environment. It provides leadership and encourages partnership in caring for the environment by inspiring, informing and enabling nations and peoples to improve their quality of life without compromising that of future generations.

For more information, please contact:

Keishamaza Rukikaire, Head of News & Media, UN Environment Programme