The orgnisation says that the initiatives are part of its effort “to elevate climate work and address the climate crisis”, by initiating new programs that address the conference themes.
These include:
- Several programs to advance small-scale fisheries and aquaculture, including up to $21 million to address the drivers of illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing in the Pacific Islands region through the OurFish OurFuture and Pacific Coastal Fisheries Management and Compliance projects; and the new Sustainable Fish Asia project, which will award up to $13.9 million to improve management of marine biodiversity and fisheries resources in the Indo-Pacific region.
- The $15 million Climate Resilient Cities program in the Philippines, to help climate vulnerable cities strengthen their resilience by adapting to, mitigating, and enduring the impacts of climate change.
- The $6.3 million NOSY MANGA Restorative Aquaculture for Nature and Communities project. This is a public-private partnership between USAID and Madagascar (which is contributing $2.5 million) Ocean Farmers, and Indian Ocean Trepang to create sustainable blue economies through scalable market-based aquaculture of seaweed and sea cucumber and to support community-based sustainable management of marine resources.
- The flagship Clean Cities, Blue Ocean (CCBO) program b(link is external), which currently partners with seven countries to combat ocean plastic pollution and implement the Save Our Seas 2.0 Act by building local capacity to strengthen solid waste management systems, will expand to include Pacific Island countries.
- A new partnership with the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad) through which Norad will provide 30 million NOK (about $3.36 million USD) in funding for CCBO in the Philippines, Sri Lanka, and Indonesia. Norad’s investment in CCBO will help expand efforts on women’s economic empowerment and provide grants to strengthen local solid waste management systems.
- The Sustainable Interventions for Biodiversity, Ocean, and Landscapes, which will fund up to $5.5 million in the Philippines to improve natural resource governance in marine landscapes, stimulate public and private sector investments in natural resource management, and reduce environmental crimes and unsustainable practices.
These and other USAID activities support the goals of the Ocean Conservation Pledge, a new initiative announced by the United States at the Conference. The Pledge encourages countries to enhance ocean conservation ambition by committing to conserve or protect 30 percent of national ocean waters by 2030.
To see all 24 announcements from USAID that address the challenges facing the global ocean and ocean communities view the USAID at OOC Fact Sheet here.
