"Locals in Seychelles will have the chance to play an equal role in decision-making and the management of marine protected areas in a first-of-its-kind participatory project. The project – enhancing coastal and marine socio-ecological resilience and biodiversity conservation in the Western Indian Ocean – is being funded by the German Climate Initiative (IKI) through the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)."

While the states in the bay watershed have collectively appropriated more than $300 million in each of the last two fiscal years to conserve important lands, and have received some complementary federal funding, these levels will be inadequate to conserve another 3.1 million acres of land by 2030 to achieve the 30% goal.

Conservation could be on the verge of a blue revolution. This year there is growing talk about using entrepreneurial finance to capture atmospheric carbon in revived marine and coastal ecosystems such as coral reefs, mangroves, salt marshes and sea grasses. Conservationists call it “blue carbon.”

USAID will guarantee up to $35 million of loans made by Circulate Capital to incentivize private capital investment and advance development objectives in the recycling value chain in South and Southeast Asia.

TNC aims for $1.6 billion impact of blue bonds by 2025; Morgan Stanley commits to financing plastic reduction for oceans.

The key challenge to implementing these far-reaching solutions is financing. Large-scale investment is required to support these projects and the private sector is the only source with the vast financial resources needed. However, attracting private investors can be tricky for ocean health-related projects.

A large investment opportunity is emerging in sustainable aquaculture, and The Nature Conservancy has partnered with Encourage Capital to create a guide that reveals how investors can help meet the demand for sustainable seafood while achieving competitive financial returns.