Takeaways

• A Maluku agreement places five Marine Protected Areas across Indonesia, the Philippines, and Zanzibar under long-term co-management, expanding reef protection across key seascapes.

• Blue Alliance now co-manages 3.4 million hectares of MPAs (1.5% of global coral reefs) through government mandates, science-based monitoring, local ranger teams, and blue economy initiatives.

• Independent verification shows strong impact: 158,000 people supported, rising fish stocks, CO₂ reductions, and scalable conservation efforts targeting 5% of global coral reefs by 2030.

A landmark signing in Maluku, eastern Indonesia, brings five large Marine Protected Areas across Indonesia, the Philippines, and Zanzibar under official long-term government mandates.

Blue Alliance, a non-profit organization dedicated to the effective management and long-term financial sustainability of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), announced that it now co-manages 3.4 million hectares of MPAs, equivalent to 1.5 percent of the world's coral reefs, as measured by the Paul Allen Coral Reef Atlas and the UNEP-WCMC database.

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The milestone follows the signing of a long-term co-management agreement between the Provincial Government of Maluku and the Blue Alliance Indonesia Foundation, formalizing protection of 1.4 million hectares across six marine conservation areas in Maluku, one of the world's most biodiverse seascapes: Romang, Damer, Tanimbar, South Buru, Kur Tayando Tam, and Lucipara. Part of the Coral Triangle and the 50 Reefs Initiative, Maluku's waters host coral reefs and fisheries that underpin regional food security and climate resilience.

Blue Alliance now holds official long-term government mandates in:

• Banggai Conservation Area, Indonesia

• Maluku Conservation Area, Indonesia

• Pemba Channel Conservation Area, Zanzibar

• Mindoro Marine Protected Area Network, the Philippines

• Palawan Marine Protected Area Network, the Philippines

Across all sites, Blue Alliance operates through a consistent model: Long-term co-management agreements with national and provincial governments; ranger teams and community officers conducting daily patrols; scientists tracking ecological recovery; and a blue economy team developing enterprises that alleviate poverty for fishers and generate revenue to fund MPA operations over time.

The goal is financial self-sufficiency. Conservation that progressively pays for itself, reducing donor dependency site by site.

"When we started, protecting a meaningful share of the world's coral reefs felt almost out of reach. Today it is real. Knowing our work touches the health of the whole planet is something we remember the moment we wake up, and it is what drives us toward 5 percent by 2030.” -Nicolas Pascal, Executive Director, Blue Alliance

Independently Verified Impact

Annual independent verification done by the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), one of Europe's largest research institutions, shows:

• 158,000 people benefitting from sustainable fishing and improved food security across all sites

• 280+ rangers, community officers, scientists, and enterprise technicians deployed, almost all locally hired

• 70+ threatened species under active protection

• 250,000 tonnes of CO₂ equivalent in avoided emissions

• Fish biomass inside the MPAs is rising, and catches in adjacent waters are increasing for local fishing communities in Indonesia and the Philippines

• 6 businesses generating over US$1.2m in revenue on track to US$10m by 2030.

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A Path to 5% by 2030

Blue Alliance's objective is to bring 5 percent of the world's coral reefs (approximately 9 million hectares) under effective management by 2030, improving food security and supporting poverty alleviation for up to half a million coastal fishers.

The Maluku signing demonstrates how the model scales: Government mandate, community co-management, ecological monitoring, and blue economy enterprise developed in parallel. Each site is designed to become a replicable template for the next.

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Source: Blue Alliance