Navigating Marine Protected Area Finance: Amplifying Income Generation Strategies for the Western Indian Ocean
Blue Nature Alliance to expand and improve conservation of 1.25 billion hectares of ocean ecosystems (GEF ID: 10375)
Implementing agency: Conservation International (CI)
Introduction
On the heels of Africa Climate Week, the Western Indian Ocean Marine Science Association (WIOMSA) and the Blue Nature Alliance hosted the Western Indian Ocean Marine Protected Area Finance Workshop in Watamu Marine Park and Reserve, Kenya’s first marine protected area (MPA). The convening brought together over 30 marine managers and finance experts from 11 countries.
With a focus on peering learning and networking, the week featured interactive sessions to share novel MPA finance models, elevate bright spots from the region, and put knowledge into practice through the creation of MPA Finance Roadmaps. Participants left empowered with a new understanding of the variety of financial mechanisms available to support MPAs, stronger networks of mentors and resources, and a firm commitment to collaborate across the region.
This International Waters Experience Note features the event brief developed in summary of the workshop. Through the event brief, readers can gain insight on the key shared challenges identified in MPA management, bright spots and replicable sustainable financing models being utilized in the WIO region, available financing instruments for the securing of MPA funding, and initial reflections and roadmaps proposed by country representatives present.
In the time since to the workshop, the following outputs have been completed; (1) Educational materials were captured and shared via an MPA finance Toolkit in partnership with Reef Resilience Network for global use over 2500 people have accessed the toolkit, (2) work has commenced to advance the development of a regional conservation trust fund for the WIO region, and (4) the workshop content has been used in Mozambique and Dutch Caribbean regions.
Project description
The Blue Nature Alliance (Alliance) GEF Project will catalyze the conservation of 1.25 billion hectares of ocean ecosystems, to safeguard biodiversity, help build resilience to climate change, promote human well-being, and enhance ecosystem connectivity and function.
The Alliance deploys a majority of project resources through site-based engagements to support the creation, expansion, or improved management of ocean conservation areas. These engagements work with partners at all levels – from local to national leadership – to enable the creation and implementation of bold, transformative conservation plans at scale. Project resources are, further, complimented by the provision of technical expertise, access to the Alliance’s global network, and sharing of lessons learned across partnerships and project geographies.
The Alliance set an explicit target of ensuring that 50% of engagement sites from Component 2 (new protections) and 75% of the engagement sites from Component 3 (improved protections) have a credible plan in place for achieving long-term financing and management effectiveness. To achieve this, the Alliance works directly with site managers and partners to construct sustainable financing plans to help form pathways towards identifying sources of sustainable revenue and leveraging more funds toward the sites. The workshop and corresponding project experience represents an example of such work.
Issue(s), Challenge(s)
Marine protected areas (MPAs) play an important role in protecting critical habitats, fostering biodiversity, and managing fisheries while providing many related co-benefits to coastal communities, including coastal protection, sense of place, and eco-tourism income, among other impacts. Despite their ecological, social, and economic value, many MPAs are underfunded, with 65% of MPAs reporting that they have insufficient budget for management or enforcement of their area.
Common funding mechanisms such as government allocations, donor contributions, tourism revenue, grants, and philanthropy are frequently utilized to support MPAs, especially at the inception of a new protected area. However, these initial funding streams are often insufficient to sustain the ongoing resource needs essential for maintaining effective management activities, indicating a need for robust financial strategies and initiative finance models for MPAs.
While there has been a recent uptick in the application of traditional and contemporary finance models to diversify funding streams to sustain marine protected area management, marine managers are typically trained in natural resource management and lack business acumen to diversify and cultivate income-generating activities and other progressive fundraising methodologies. As a result, many marine protected areas (MPAs) lack the necessary financial expertise to tap into their full potential and opportunities to transfer knowledge and receive practical guidance in this complex space remain limited.
Experience
The Western Indian Ocean Marine Science Association (WIOMSA) and the Blue Nature Alliance hosted the Western Indian Ocean Marine Protected Area Finance Workshop in Watamu Marine Park and Reserve, Kenya’s first marine protected area (MPA). The convening brought together over 30 marine managers and finance experts from 11 countries.
With a focus on peering learning and networking, the week featured interactive sessions to share novel MPA finance models and elevate bright spots from the region. The final day featured a prioritization exercise that enabled participants to put their knowledge into practice by creating MPA Finance Roadmaps for each of their countries. Participants left empowered with a new understanding of the variety of financial mechanisms available to run their MPAs, stronger networks of mentors and resources, and a firm commitment to collaborate across the region.
“Facilitating sharing and learning between and amongst marine managers is a core activity for WIOMSA. We need to start thinking about business to be able to finance all the staff and professional development necessary to effectively meet global ocean conservation targets,” said Dr. Arthur Tuda, Executive Director of WIOMSA. “ Our partnership with the Blue Nature Alliance increases the WIO region’s capacity to generate a blue economy vital to realizing a sustainable future.”
Participants called for the development of a broader regional strategy for increasing capacity for MPA finance in the Western Indian Ocean, and WIOMSA and the WIO Protected Area Network (WIOPAN) and have since designed an MPA Finance Community of Practice for the region.
“It’s critical to help build a support system for managers of large-scale marine areas to ensure their conservation work is effective long term,” said Chris Stone, Conservation Finance Lead for the Blue Nature Alliance. “We are working to expand the financial acumen of marine managers to help them sustain the conservation of these critical ocean ecosystems for future generations.”
Results and Learning
The Alliance has partnered with Reef Resilience Network to capture and share education materials through an open access online MPA Finance Toolkit which features workshop participants and reflections. The toolkit was designed to help managers and planners who are working in MPAs to (1) gain a basic understanding of MPA finance, consider what financing mechanism(s) might be appropriate for their MPA, (3) strategize for the implementation of MPA financing, and (4) explore real-world examples of MPA finance in practice.
Replication
Since the delivery of the workshop in Kenya, two other entities have capitalized on the design and content of the initial workshop. With support from the Blue Maine Foundation and the Blue Nature Alliance, an in-person workshop was held for the Dutch Caribbean region in April 2025, sharing this content with 34 participants from 6 countries and territories. The Joint Nature Conservation Committee, a UK-based public body, similarly hosted a Mozambique specific workshop also using this technical matter and pieces of the learning design.
The Reef Resilience Network MPA Finance Toolkit was developed to extend the resources and learning to a global audience, providing a first-stop resource for marine managers and practitioners interested in generating sustainable financing for their MPAs. The toolkit primarily focuses on varieties of mechanisms that can provide revenue to MPAs for different activities and provides guidance on how one might identify the most appropriate funding mechanisms to meet those needs in the short, medium, and long terms.
Managers using this toolkit will come away with a broad understanding of this emerging and rapidly growing field, as well as guidance on how to generate high-level roadmaps outlining potential finance mechanisms for their MPAs.
Significance
The Western Indian Ocean Marine Protected Area Finance Workshop highlighted that is of the utmost importance to consider the economic and social benefits (such as enhancing livelihoods and economic opportunities for local communities) of MPAs and the funding mechanisms necessary to support those benefits. To help prevent the occurrence of “paper parks” or MPAs that look ideal on paper but are unmanageable and unenforceable in reality, it is essential for marine managers to be empowered with the financial acumen necessary to advance the proper financial mechanisms to sustain MPAs, paving the way for a future where MPAs are financially robust, ensuring both marine conservation and economic growth.
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