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The 30×30 Southeast Asia Ocean Fund has announced its first cohort of grant partners having surpassed its initial fundraising target of $5 million within just three months of operation. Announced in October 2024, and officially launched in January 2025, the objective of the 30×30 Southeast Asia Ocean Fund is to address the issues of climate change and biodiversity loss with the global 30×30 Goal of a commitment to protect at least 30 per cent of the world’s land, freshwater, and ocean by 2030.

The fund supports high-impact marine conservation initiatives aligned with the global 30×30 Goal by prioritising and empowering local organisations and communities across Southeast Asia through pooled resources and expertise to help drive conservation efforts on the ground. Leading philanthropic organisations including; Bluejacket Foundation, Dalio Philanthropies, Djinda Foundation, ECCA Family Foundation, Eden Impact, Oceankind, Quantedge Advancement Initiative, Rumah Foundation, and The Moh Family Foundation, are among the backers of the 30×30 Southeast Asia Fund.

‘This is our first pooled, regional fund, and it meaningfully complements our own oceans portfolio by enabling us to back grassroots efforts beyond our own geographical scope’ said Carol Liew, managing director, ECCA Family Foundation.

Following the fund’s official launch, three projects have been selected after a thorough review process which assessed proposals from various organisations across seven Southeast Asian countries. The successful applicants demonstrated a strong alignment with the fund’s mission of creating, expanding and strengthening protected and conserved areas, with a clear focus on enhancing biodiversity and ensuring long-term ecosystem health for communities and nature.

The successful projects selected in the first cohort of grant partners are:

• Manengkel Solidaritas, North Sulawesi, Indonesia
• Sulubaai Environmental Foundation, Taytay, Palawan, Philippines
• Yayasan Konservasi Alam Nusantara, Bird’s Head Seascape, Indonesia

The fund aims to foster equity, long-term impact and sustainable conservation outcomes by supporting work that engages local groups in planning, implementation and governance to reflect the needs and strengths of local actors.

The 30×30 Southeast Asia Ocean Fund is currently accepting proposals, and invites applications from organisations and community-driven initiatives working on marine conservation.

The 30×30 Southeast Asia Ocean Fund is a funders’ collaborative dedicated to supporting efforts to protect 30% of Southeast Asia’s seas by 2030, with the core objectives of creating new marine protected and conserved areas, expanding coverage of existing marine protected and conserved areas, and strengthening and supporting the effective management of existing marine protected and conserved areas.