CFA Publication - Coral Reef Finance: Insights from the Global Fund for Coral Reefs Investment Principles

This document has been compiled for The Global Fund for Coral Reefs with the support of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Conservation Finance Alliance (CFA).

The Global Fund for Coral Reefs (GFCR) seeks to enhance the resilience of coral reef ecosystems, communities and economies by unlocking new public and private resources that accelerate sustainable businesses and finance solutions. Launched in 2020, the GFCR was created recognizing that longer-term finance solutions beyond traditional grants are required to address the diverse challenges facing coral reefs. The GFCR’s ‘reef-positive solutions’ include businesses and finance mechanisms that have a positive impact on coral reef health while providing sustainable benefits for local communities. The GFCR provides a suite of support including finance for transformative programmes, technical assistance and risk-tolerant investment capital to design, incubate and grow these reef-positive solutions.

Download - Coral Reef Finance: Insights from the Global Fund for Coral Reefs Investment Principles 

CFA Publication - Finance Tools for Coral Reef Conservation: A Guide

This past December several CFA members released a paper on Finance Tools for Coral Reef Conservation. The paper is available for download below, and information from the webinar held about the paper in January 2019 is available on the webinars page.

Download: Finance Tools for Coral Reef Conservation: A Guide

Coral reefs are critical ecosystems that are home to more than 25% of all known marine species, while occupying less than one quarter of 1% of the Earth’s marine environment (IUCN, 2013). In June 2018, the 50 Reefs initiative culminated with the publication of a scientific study on coral reefs that are least vulnerable to climate change and have the greatest capacity to repopulate other reefs over time. To contibute to 50 Reefs, the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) worked in conjunction with the Conservation Finance Alliance (CFA) to create a working guide on the financial tools available for coral reef conservation. Financial tools are a means of securing reliable funding for conservation activities such as creating new protected areas, restoring ecosystems, and promoting sustainable tourism or aligning incentives of actors to improve conservation outcomes. This guide is intended to serve as a reference and resource for protected area managers and other professionals charged with achieving conservation and protection of coral reefs, and ensuring adequate financial means to do so.

Author(s): Venkat Iyer, Katy Mathias, David Meyers, Ray Victurine, & Melissa Walsh
December 2018

Photo credit: HANNES KLOSTERMANN / CORAL REEF IMAGE BANK