Bloomberg Philanthropies pledges $250 million to turn ocean protection plans into action

London: Bloomberg Philanthropies has committed $250 million to help close a critical funding gap in ocean conservation. The aim is to turn commitments made under the UN’s new High Seas Treaty into real protections on the water, particularly for small island and coastal nations that lack resources for management and enforcement.

The donation was announced in mid-June during London Climate Week. It comes as countries have committed to protecting roughly 10% of the ocean, but many of those areas exist only on paper. Without tools for implementation, monitoring, and long-term financing, conservation goals cannot be met.

“Our new commitment marks the next phase of the Bloomberg Ocean Initiative,” said Patricia E. Harris, CEO of Bloomberg Philanthropies. “Over the years, we have made important progress in protecting our ocean, but we still have a long way to go. We look forward to working with partners to not only improve leadership and governance on the issue but also strengthen economies and safeguard the livelihoods of the billions of people who rely on the ocean every day.

”The funding will support expanded technical, legal, and policy capacity for small coastal and island nations. This will help them engage in global ocean negotiations and implement commitments under international agreements, so they can advance protections and manage them effectively.

The initiative will also expand the use of satellite monitoring, artificial intelligence, and public data platforms. The goal is to improve transparency, accountability, and decision-making across the global ocean.

Building on longstanding work to protect climate-resilient coral reefs, Bloomberg Ocean Initiative will now expand into restoration. It will pilot new approaches to restore reefs damaged by marine heatwaves, pollution, and severe storms in areas already prioritized for long-term protection. This work builds on new findings from 50 Reefs+, which identified more than 60,000 square miles of coral reefs across 71 countries and 99 territories with the strongest potential to survive climate change and support long-term resilience.

Bloomberg Philanthropies also released its list of partners for the initiative. They include Global Fishing Watch, Oceana, Wildlife Conservation Society, National Geographic Pristine Seas, Rare, Blue Ventures, Campaign for Nature, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, and others.

The pledge comes as the High Seas Treaty, negotiated for over two decades, moves into implementation. The treaty secured major gains for the protection of critical ocean habitats. Bloomberg Philanthropies said the new funding is meant to ensure those paper protections translate into healthier oceans and stronger coastal economies.