Today, Bloomberg Philanthropies announced it is expanding its commitment to protect the ocean, coastal communities and marine ecosystems. The Bloomberg Ocean Initiative will invest $204 million to leverage data-driven solutions, policy solutions, and community involvement to protect coral reefs, stop illegal fishing, and safeguard marine ecosystems and biodiversity that are at risk from the growing impacts of climate change. Today’s commitment builds on Bloomberg’s efforts to fight c...

“This remarkable commitment is a major step toward sustainably managed seas which is so critical to nature, people and climate.” Simon Cripps, Executive Director of the WCS Marine Program

The Protecting Our Planet Challenge will invest at least $1 billion USD to support the creation, expansion and management of marine protected areas and Indigenous and locally governed marine and coastal areas by 2030.

Gabon's network of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) provides a blueprint that could be used in many other countries, experts say.

Cuba has just declared Este del Archipiélago de Los Colorados (“East of Los Colorados Archipelago”), a new marine protected area. This new MPA covers about half of one of the four major archipelagos surrounding the country, and hosts exceptional marine life including Antillean manatees, American crocodiles, and critically endangered Hawksbill sea turtles.

The Government of Bangladesh has declared a new marine protected area (MPA) spanning 1,743 square kilometers (672 square miles) around Saint Martin’s Island, a region which represents 1.5 percent of Bangladesh’s exclusive economic zone.

A new, widespread study of the global state of marine coral reef wilderness by WCS, NGS, and university collaborators found that remote ocean wilderness areas are sustaining fish populations much better than some of the world’s best marine reserves.

A team of conservationists in Brazil funded by the Conservation Leadership Programme (CLP), of which WCS is a partner, has assisted in the creation and recent publication of a new government-executed management plan to conserve threatened coral reefs in Brazil’s largest federal coastal marine conservation unit, the Costa dos Corais.

A new multi-sector collaboration involving 22 organizations is being launched to address a pervasive global problem - marine pollution from sewage and wastewater. 

A powerful, long-term study from WCS adds scientific backing for global calls for conserving 30 percent of the world’s ocean.