Inside the effort to save an iconic Caribbean coral reef

The Global Fund for Coral Reefs is a UN-backed multi-partner trust fund. It provides grants and loans to coral-reef-positive enterprises worldwide, supporting initiatives from ecotourism to sustainable aquaculture to seaweed farming. The GFCR’s goal is to support over 400 reef-positive businesses and create more than 30,000 jobs by 2030. Long term, the Mesoamerican Reef Fund is aiming to leverage US$60 million in private capital and enhance the resilience of over 3 million coastal residents. 

Each reef-positive enterprise in the GFCR’s pipeline addresses threats to reef health while supporting poverty alleviation and contributing to the financial sustainability of marine protected areas, safe havens for sea life.  

“The fund’s projects show that even modest investments in biodiversity conservation can unlock remarkable innovation and impact,” says UNEP’s Susan Gardner. “In the face of mounting threats to coral reefs, this multiplying effect is exactly what we need right now.” 

The planet is experiencing a dangerous decline in nature. One million species are threatened with extinction, soil health is declining and water sources are drying up. The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework sets out global targets to halt and reverse nature loss by 2030. It was adopted by world leaders in December 2022. To address the drivers of the nature crisis, UNEP is working with partners to take action in landscapes and seascapes, transform our food systems, and close the finance gap for nature.  

The Global Fund for Coral Reefs (GFCR) was established to accelerate urgent investment and action to enhance the resilience of coastal reef ecosystems, communities and economies. The GFCR comprises two major financial vehicles: a UN-led grant fund and a private-sector-led large-scale private equity impact investment fund. The GFCR aims to promote sustainable ocean production, spur sustainable coastal development and ecotourism, forge circular economies and pollution management, and enable technologies for a sustainable future.