A healthy ocean is critical to life on this planet. Yet, measures to ensure its integrity remain significantly underfunded despite its importance.
On Monday, May 5, Markus Knigge, Executive Director of Blue Action Fund (BAF), joined Rare’s Global Head of Fish Forever, Rocky Sanchez Tirona, in a conversation about the urgency of financing marine, area-based conservation in the lead-up to the 3rd United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC).
BAF is a non-profit foundation established in 2017 by the German government in response to the UN Sustainable Development Goal 14 (SDG 14), “Life Below Water.” Unlike other funders that have a wide range of focus areas, BAF uniquely focuses on establishing Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) and Other Effective area-based Conservation Measures (OECMs), emphasizing social equity and community inclusion. This allows the small team at BAF to maintain close, flexible relationships with grantees, favoring practical support over rigid oversight.
“We have to [ensure] that ocean conservation is not regarded as a luxury but as a really important issue,” warned Knigge.
While BAF is legally a private foundation, it is funded entirely by public sources. To date, BAF has disbursed about €60 million, with €18 million in 2024 and plans for €20 million in 2025. Additionally, because public dollars entirely fund BAF, it applies public sector compliance rules, including human rights, environmental and social safeguards, and anti-corruption checks.
“BAF is asking a lot of good, challenging questions [of its grantees],” said Tirona. “As a grantee [going through] a Blue Action Fund process, you come out better on the other side.” Rare’s fisheries work in Mozambique was significantly strengthened thanks to BAF funding.
The two also discussed the challenges of meeting global 30×30 commitments. According to Knigge, achieving 30% ocean protection by 2030 would require creating MPAs equivalent to Switzerland’s size every single day—a daunting target.
But despite funding gaps and political challenges, Knigge believes that there are reasons to be optimistic. He cited that when he began working in the sector in 2006, blue fin tuna was feared to be on the verge of extinction.
“This was all over the media,” he recalled. “But [the population of blue fin tuna] has since rebounded. Could it be better? Yes, of course, but is it in a completely different state compared to 18 years ago? Yes.”
For Knigge, this underscores the importance of diverse, authentic stories and ongoing trust-building with communities and partners to drive impactful ocean conservation.
“If the right people come together…behind the same objective,” said Knigge, “we can achieve unbelievable things.”