In 2015, Blue Alliance was created to explore innovative, self-sustaining funding models for marine protected areas (MPAs). Since then, Blue Alliance has developed a unique marine conservation model and has worked closely with governments to create and nurture self-sustaining MPAs.
Blue Alliance Blended Finance Vehicle, accelerated through the Catalytic Climate Finance Facility (CC Facility), is supporting 3.5 million hectares of MPAs across Sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia. The structure has been working to strengthen MPA operations and develop reef-positive businesses within the blue economy that alleviate poverty and generate long-term income for MPAs. These sectors include community-based aquaculture, ecotourism, sustainable fisheries, and blue carbon projects.
In this interview, Nicolas Pascal, Executive Director & Co-Founder of Blue Alliance, shares insights on the initiative’s challenges, impact, and future.
What challenges have you faced?
The primary challenge is that many large MPAs in the Global South remain “paper parks”, legally designated but inactive due to chronic underfunding, limited enforcement capacity, and fragmented short-term projects. This allows destructive fishing, reef degradation, and declining fish stocks to continue. Furthermore, working across remote seascapes requires deep community engagement, development of alternative livelihoods, and establishment of reliable data systems for monitoring biodiversity and climate impacts. Another challenge we have encountered is securing patient, early-stage capital for both MPAs and local businesses, as traditional funding cycles are often too short to support long-term ecosystem recovery.
What is the solution?
Blue Alliance is developing a long‑term, scalable model to regenerate coral reefs while improving the livelihoods of coastal communities. The organization co‑manages large MPAs alongside governments and local communities, implementing more than 70 activities across enforcement, biodiversity monitoring, community development, and climate resilience. In parallel, it manages and owns a portfolio of “reef‑positive businesses” in community‑based aquaculture, sustainable fisheries, and eco‑tourism. These enterprises generate local jobs and income while providing a pathway for MPAs to secure their own long‑term financing. The result is a model in which conservation functions as an economic engine rather than a recurring cost burden.
To address the chronic financing gap facing MPAs, Blue Alliance has established the Blue Alliance Blended Finance Vehicle, which combines philanthropic funding, grants, and impact investment. Philanthropic partners provide concessional capital that covers essential conservation activities and contributes to the design and structuring of the overall facility. This catalytic funding reduces investment risk and enables private investors to enter at scale.
The mechanism links grant financing for MPA management with impact loans for reef‑positive enterprises that are required to meet environmental and social performance criteria. As these businesses mature, they return revenues through dividends or revenue‑sharing directly to the MPAs, reducing long‑term dependence on donor funding and public budgets.
By combining public and philanthropic capital with private investment, the blended finance structure strengthens MPA operations and accelerates the growth of sustainable coastal economies. It provides upfront and early‑stage capital for enterprises that address key drivers of reef degradation, alleviate poverty, and build resilient income streams for coastal communities. The CC Facility is supporting Blue Alliance in refining this financial structure, strengthening investor engagement, and enabling the model to scale across regions.
Overall, the facility is designed to mobilize substantial impact investment, support the regeneration of more than a million hectares of coral reef ecosystems, and improve livelihoods and food security for coastal communities across multiple countries. The model ensures that conservation is not a cost but a local economic engine, allowing people and nature to thrive together.
How did funding from the CC Facility support the development of the solution?
The CC Facility funding accelerated the structuring and scaling of Blue Alliance’s blended finance vehicle. It enabled us to strengthen our financial model, refine our impact key performance indicators, engage new investors, and build the legal and operational foundations required to expand our portfolio of reef-positive businesses and the next cohort of MPAs. The support also helped us prepare country expansion strategies, investor materials, and gender integration plans. In short, the CC Facility has allowed Blue Alliance to move from a successful proof-of-concept to a robust, investable structure ready for scale across multiple countries.
What is the impact so far?
Blue Alliance currently co-manages 3.5 million hectares of coral reef ecosystems across Indonesia, the Philippines, and Tanzania, protecting more than 70 threatened species and supporting the livelihoods of over 30,000 coastal community members. Our teams have implemented over 15,000 hours of patrols, strengthened marine law enforcement, and collected extensive scientific data on fish biomass, coral cover, fisheries productivity, and mangrove carbon. Reef-positive businesses have generated over USD 500,000 in early revenues and created 127 jobs, demonstrating the viability of a conservation-led economy. Communities already report reduced illegal fishing and improved catches near MPAs, clear signs of early ecological recovery.
What’s next?
With support from partners like the CC Facility, Blue Alliance aims to scale its model to 9 million hectares by 2030, demonstrating the viability of long-term, financially self-sustaining MPA networks. This includes launching the next cohort of reef-positive businesses, expanding to new countries, and deepening climate impact through mangrove conservation. We will continue strengthening our monitoring systems, building local capacity, and ensuring that dividends from reef-positive businesses progressively finance MPA operations. The ambition is to create a global blueprint for large-scale coral reef regeneration and community-led ocean protection.
