Life Below Water

With Australian wildfires raging, and images of orphaned koalas grabbing international attention, it’s easy to forget that other sensitive Aussie ecosystem under threat: the Great Barrier Reef. Back in 2016, following an extreme bleaching event, author and climate activist Naomi Klein traveled to the reef with her four-year-old son in hopes that he could catch a glimpse of what little healthy coral remained.

In a short film documenting her trip, Klein notes that the bleaching, which had impacted more than 90% of the reef, had turned “what had been a riot of life into a ghostly, bone-white forest.” Her heartbreaking video of the reef’s precipitous decline reveals one facet of a global assault on our oceans, largely driven by man-made causes.

Unfortunately, since Klein’s trip four years ago, ocean health has continued to worsen. A recent report by the Australian Government noted the Great Barrier Reef’s deterioration over a ten year stretch, having gone from being “at a crossroads” in 2009, to being an “icon under pressure” in 2014, to the point where “in 2019, Australia is caring for a changed and less resilient reef.”

At the global level, challenges related to global warming include rising sea levels, marine heatwaves, and ocean acidification, which pose the risk of severe losses to biodiversity, habitats, and coastal ecosystem functions if temperatures are not brought under control by lowering emissions. Complicating climate-related factors are a myriad of additional anthropogenic threats to the ocean.

One such threat is that of overfishing, which has already caused global fish stocks to plummet to dangerously low levels. Another challenge is the fact that eight million tons of plastic ends up in the sea each year, resulting in vast swaths of floating plastics, along with equally insidious and toxic microplastics (and nanoplastics), which settle in the deep ocean to poison its inhabitants. The recent “blue acceleration,” or industrialization of the ocean, is also hastening the degradation of marine environments, with activities such as shipping, fish farming, cruising, and the construction of desalination plants and offshore wind farms largely responsible. This commodification of the ocean even extends into mining, as companies have been rushing to exploit minerals on the sea floor due to dwindling supplies on land.

Taken together, these challenges may seem insurmountable. Luckily, a number of funders are seeking to tackle them by backing original approaches to fostering ocean health. Which funders are stepping up to the plate to keep these threats at bay? Let’s examine a few of these defenders of Earth’s marine realm.

Ocean Innovation Challenge

The United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goal 14 (SDG14), Life Below Water, seeks to conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas, and marine resources. The Ocean Innovation Challenge aims to speed up progress towards that goal by identifying, financing, advising, and mentoring innovative and entrepreneurial approaches to ocean and coastal restoration and protection that advance the blue economy and sustain livelihoods. The first Challenge, which supports projects implemented in developing countries, seeks innovative solutions to counter the scourge of ocean pollution, with a strong focus on nutrients and plastics from land-based sources such as agriculture, wastewater, and poorly managed solid waste. If you hurry, you can catch the deadline for preliminary proposals; if you’ve missed the deadline, keep an eye on their site for upcoming Ocean Challenges.

Blue Action Fund

The Blue Action Fund supports national and international non-governmental organizations in their efforts to conserve the oceans and coastlines in the developing world. Grants are provided to marine and coastal conservation projects in marine protected areas (MPAs) and their buffer zones, focusing on the most sensitive coastal waters of Africa, Latin America, and Asia/Pacific. The goal is to reduce the dramatic loss of marine biodiversity and to improve incomes in coastal fishing communities. There is currently an open call for proposals focused on the Western Indian Ocean, as well as plans to release another call this year focused on Western and Central Africa.

Ocean Solutions Accelerator

The Ocean Solutions Accelerator, an initiative of the Sustainable Ocean Alliance (SAO), supports innovative ocean entrepreneurs from around the world to help them scale their solutions to the ocean’s greatest challenges. The 2020 Accelerator will provide up to 40 selected startups with a $25,000 investment and an eight-week leadership and development program in the San Francisco Bay Area. SOA works with startups building scalable solutions to meet ocean challenges such as depleted fisheries, plastic pollution, habitat destruction, and human activities that threaten the economic vitality and ecological stability of the ocean. Preliminary interest forms are currently being accepted from entrepreneurs worldwide.

National Geographic Society Grants Program

The National Geographic Society's Grants Program aims to further understanding of the planet and empower the global community to generate solutions for a healthier and more sustainable future. Be sure to monitor their Request for Proposals (RFP) page in 2020, as they plan to release the Reducing Ocean Plastic Pollution RFP, which will support projects aimed at tackling the threat of plastic pollution in waterways, before it reaches the ocean.

Schmidt Marine Technology Partners

Schmidt Marine Technology Partners funds the development of ocean technologies that solve complex ocean health issues, and in most cases have strong commercialization potential. The focus is on solving problems in the following areas: sustaining fisheries, enabling ocean research, marine plastic pollution, and habitat health. Initial project synopsis proposals are accepted on a rolling basis from a wide range of groups.

Oak Foundation

The Oak Foundation commits its resources to address issues of global, social, and environmental concern, particularly those that have a major impact on the lives of the disadvantaged. Within their Environment program, the marine conservation sub-program supports cutting-edge initiatives that promote sustainable development, contribute to the integrity of marine ecosystems, and enhance the well-being of coastal and indigenous communities. The focus is on small-scale fisheries, plastic waste, and industrial fisheries. Letters of inquiry may be submitted at any time.

These are just a few of the many funding opportunities out there to support global efforts to preserve our oceans. What will happen if we don’t act now?

According to a report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, “Over the 21st century, the ocean is projected to transition to unprecedented conditions,” including a high likelihood of changes such as higher temperatures, continuing acidification, and marine heatwaves, along with the possibility that extreme El Niño and La Niña events will happen more often. However, the report goes on to state, “The rates and magnitudes of these changes will be smaller under scenarios with low greenhouse gas emissions (very likely).” We have a window of opportunity to reduce these climate-related changes, and to counter other man-made threats to the vibrancy of our oceans. Let’s not allow it to close before we’ve taken action.