Belém and Beyond: Financing frontline ocean and climate action
As the world turns its attention to Belém ahead of COP30, Monique Galvão, Vice President of Rare Brazil, highlights the urgent opportunity to embed resilience for coastal communities and vital marine ecosystems like mangroves into global climate action plans.
This blog was originally published Together for the Ocean.
The vast mangrove forest along Brazil’s Amazon Coast encompasses 14,000 square kilometers – the second largest continuous mangrove forest on the planet.
But this vast area is not empty wilderness. It is a living landscape sheltering 3,200 marine species. These mangroves underpin the food security of more than 3.5 million people. They store carbon at a rate ten times greater than mature tropical forests. They act as a natural buffer against storm surges and coastal erosion intensified by climate change. And it is where fishers, shellfish gatherers, and local traditional communities sustain their livelihoods, cultures, and identities while caring for ecosystems of global importance.
For centuries, traditional communities along Brazil’s Amazon Coast have lived with, learned from, and defended the mangroves.
The world is getting wiser about the value of mangroves. When global policymakers descend on Belém, Brazil for the United Nations Climate Conference (COP30) I expect to hear much about mangroves’ ability to trap carbon emissions and build coastal resilience.
But will leaders back those convictions up with what it takes to protect both the mangroves and the communities that depend on them?
GLOBAL COMMITMENTS VS LOCAL REALITIES
COP30 marks the ten-year anniversary of the Paris Climate Agreement, where nations agreed to submit national climate action plans for addressing climate change every five years. In 2024, Brazil submitted their new climate plan to the UN, which identified mangroves as critical for both climate mitigation and adaptation.
Three years ago, global policymakers adopted the Global Biodiversity Framework and the goal of protecting and managing 30% of the world’s lands and waters by 2030 (known as 30×30), which Brazil is also committed to achieving. Progress towards 30×30 will help curb climate change through reducing greenhouse gas emissions, enhancing carbon storage, and protecting areas that support the climate resilience and food security of local communities.
In Brazil, mangroves are protected within areas called extractive reserves (Portuguese: ReservaExtrativista), or Resex, that safeguard the ecosystem while allowing for sustainable use by small-scale fishers, oyster gleaners, and other local harvesters. More than 80% of Brazil’s mangroves are already designated as protected through the Resex system.
But lines on a map do not automatically result in protection on the ground. These commitments are only as strong as their local implementation: the reality is a minority of Resex areas have plans for operationalizing and managing these areas. In the state of Pará, only 14% of Resex areas have management plans.
THE GAP: PLANS WITHOUT PEOPLE
As somebody who works every day with local communities and leaders who guard mangroves, the answer to bridging the gap between political commitment and long-term action is clear. We cannot have plans without people. Global and national commitments must cascade down to municipalities and local actors.
When communities and local leaders are given the rights and resources to protect nature, they are the most effective at turning national commitments into real, measurable progress.
FRONTLINE LEADERSHIP: PROVEN MODELS FOR COASTAL RESILIENCE
Rare prioritizes investing in community leadership and building the capacity of frontline communities to drive conservation and resilience solutions.
One example is the Mothers of Mangroves. This network of hundreds of Brazilian fisherwomen works together to protect the coastal ecosystems in which they live, work, and play. The Mothers host community meetings, workshops, and seminars focused on best practices for sustainable fishing and harvesting in mangrove stands, coupled with financial education, entrepreneurship, and savings clubs, to fund investments in community infrastructure. This increased access to finance helps fisherfolk build a safety net for times of uncertainty, creating increased confidence in the face of climate risks and financial vulnerabilities. And bioeconomy solutions that connect ecosystem protection to local prosperity ultimately improve ecosystem protections and climate resilience.
We cannot have plans without people. Global and national commitments must cascade down to municipalities and local actors.
Another example is Coastal 500, a global network of mayors and other local leaders committed to prosperous and thriving coastal communities. Coastal 500, which includes local leaders from 16 coastal municipalities in Pará, Brazil, share solutions locally and globally, implement peer-inspired coastal protection, resilience and fisheries policies, and demonstrate how community-led action drives real change.
THE MISSING LINK: FINANCING THE FRONTLINES
There are already countless examples of local, community-led sustainable management plans like these around the world. Unfortunately, funding rarely reaches these leaders, as international pledges often stall at national and regional levels. To keep the forest green and the sea blue, communities’ bank accounts cannot be in the red.
A CALL FOR COP30: FROM PROMISES TO ACTION
COP30 must not be just another place for statements and political speeches, but a COP of action. COP will be a success if global leaders find practical pathways to invest in community leadership to drive climate and ocean solutions. We need financing mechanisms that deliver money to the frontlines, and we need to establish dialogue and trust between local and global leaders.
As global donors chase new targets, we are in danger of being left behind and our ecosystems protected in name only. To realize the potential of plans like the Paris Agreement or 30×30, we need to invest effectively in managing the areas we have already protected – moving beyond paper parks. Together, we can turn these political commitments into action.
COP30 in Belém is a pivotal moment. A decade after Paris, we cannot afford a cycle of speeches or empty promises. Leaders must back up their political commitments with resources, trust, and co-designed solutions with communities. If Belém becomes the COP where the world finally listens to and invests in frontline communities, then the Amazon Coast will not just host the world – it will help save it.