Innovative Finance for Coral Reefs Event & Lunch

Side Event at UN COP15, Montreal – 15 December.

Innovative Finance for Coral Reefs Event & Lunch

The Conservation Finance Alliance (CFA), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW), the International Coral Reef Initiative (ICRI), the Coral Triangle Initiative on Coral Reefs, Fisheries, and Food Security (CTI-CFF), and the Global Fund for Coral Reefs (GFCR) organized the COP15 event on Innovations in Coral Reef Finance. The event was held at Hotel Le Westin, Montreal, on 15 December 2022. It featured the launch of GFCR’s REEF+ Knowledge and Finance Accelerator, announced by Dr. Chuck Cooper of the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation, along with a presentation by CFA/UNDP.

This session aligns directly with the anticipated Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework’s action-oriented targets and supports the transition to resilient, nature-positive economies and financial flows, specifically by advancing mechanisms ready to deliver on Target 19.

The Honorable Minister of Environment of Egypt, HE Dr. Yasmine Fouad, also delivered her remarks at this event. Our CTI-CFF Executive Director, Dr. Mohd Kushairi Bin Mohd Rajuddin, was one of the expert panelists for the session “Driving Finance for Coral Resilience,” which was moderated by Penny Stock of UNDP.

Other expert panelists included Yabanex Batista from the Global Fund for Coral Reefs (GFCR); Cedric Robillot from the Reef Restoration and Adaptation Program (RRAP), Great Barrier Reef Foundation; and Anne-Sophie Roux from Tenaka.

Also in attendance were representatives from the CT6 countries, including the Philippines’ Under Secretary HE Mr. Ernesto, as well as NCC representatives from Malaysia and Papua New Guinea.