US$4 million from the Bezos Earth Fund for the Niue Ocean Wide Trust
The Niue Ocean Wide Trust this afternoon announced a US$4 million investment from the Bezos Earth Fund to support permanent protection and sustainable management of Niue’s ocean space.
Brendon Pasisi with the Niue Ocean Wide team
The Niue Ocean Wide Trust this afternoon announced a US$4 million investment from the Bezos Earth Fund to support permanent protection and sustainable management of Niue’s ocean space.
Niue is one of Pacific 12 countries and territories to share the total pool of $37.5 million from the Bezos Earth Fund towards the regions shared vision of Unlocking Blue Pacific Prosperity – a region wide effort to sustainably manage 100% of the Pacific Ocean and protect at least 30%.
In a statement the Bezos Earth Fund states “The Pacific Ocean shapes life, climate, and culture across the region. It feeds communities, supports economies, and helps stabilize the global climate. But it is under increasing pressure.
“This funding supports locally driven solutions to protect ocean ecosystems, strengthen food security, and uphold traditional practices. It is a practical step toward the region’s long-term vision for ocean health and prosperity.”
The announcement made is one of the largest contributions towards the NOW Trust. In a press statement, NOW says “The funding will support the Niue Ocean Wide Trust in delivering ocean conservation through marine spatial planning and strengthening marine management plans as well as management compliance, working closely with key stakeholders within our government, NGOs, Village Councils and Resource Management Advisory groups in our communities”
NOW is a public private partnership between the Government of Niue and Tofia Niue.
Niue’s Prime Minister Dalton Tagelagi says that Niue has taken bold steps to protect its ocean space and this grant will build on the foundation already put in place through the Marine Park and the Niue Ocean Conservation Commitments “The Bezos Earth Fund support builds on this foundation strengthening food security, resilience, and opportunities for our people while advancing the Pacific’s shared ambition under Unlocking Blue Pacific Prosperity”
Founder and President of Tofia Niue, Coral Pasisi is very grateful for the funding having had many years of drawn out lengthy processes to access funding “I really appreciate this very significant contribution to the NOW Trust and OCC’s. In addition to the significant volume of funding, the respect Bezos has accorded us by using our own home grown sustainable financing mechanism to deliver these resources through is a game changer.
“Moving away from traditional funding paradigms that have not worked with crippling merry-go- rounds of unsustainable and administratively burdensome project development and reporting primarily driven by donor interests.”
Coral Pasisi says this is a turning point for ocean conservation “This marks a turning point in respect for the custodians of the blue Pacific Continent, the largest healthy blue lung on the planet and cradle of Noah’s Ark in marine diversity”
The Bezos Earth Fund funding will enable the islands to expand marine protection, improve long-term ocean management and safeguard over 500 million acres of ocean.
Brendon Pasisi, Manager of NOW says this grant has moved the dial in the right direction in terms of accessing finance to support small island states like Niue.
Pasisi told BCN News that US$3.2 will boost the endowment fund of the NOW Trust and US$800,000 will be used over five years to help fund the work of village councils with resource management plans as well as to support government agencies who work directly with NOW on marine conservation.
