The Neptune Fund
Funding locally-led ocean conservation
Established in collaboration with the Ocean Risk and Resilience Action Alliance (ORRAA), the Neptune Fund provides reliable, long-term support to locally-led ocean conservation.
The ocean is home to nearly 80% of life on Earth. It stores 16 times as much carbon as terrestrial ecosystems, and billions of people globally rely on it for sustenance. Yet the ocean is in crisis: climate change, rampant overfishing, long-term pollution, and emergent extractive industries are driving key ocean systems to the brink of collapse.
Today, funding for ocean conservation skews heavily towards large international conservation organisations and grant recipients in North America. However, supporting locally-led work is one of the most effective and equitable ways to achieve conservation goals. This is especially true when funding is directed to the many communities which maintain deep connections to their local oceans.
The Neptune Fund supports targeted conservation action for some of the most threatened and overlooked marine species and ecosystems. It also funds organisations amplifying the knowledge, culture, and experience of local communities and Indigenous Peoples in ocean conservation and fisheries management.
Initially, the Neptune Fund will seek to provide long-term and core funding to three partner organisations: Alifa Haque (Bengal Elasmo Lab), Save Andaman Network, and the Piku Biodiversity Network.
Each of these locally-led organisations has built strong ties with local communities and successfully developed conservation models which benefit both marine biodiversity and social wellbeing. They work in the Bay of Bengal, Thailand’s Andaman coastline, and the coastal ecosystems of Papua New Guinea—areas where extraordinary biodiversity faces multiple escalating threats.
Many small and local organisations depend on one-time donations. A constantly changing budget makes it difficult to plan for the future. Furthermore, donations are often earmarked for direct conservation action, meaning organisations struggle to pay their staff and cover operational expenses.
The Neptune Fund seeks to fill these critical funding gaps by providing long-term, flexible funding to organisations with a proven record of impactful ocean conservation. Partners will also be offered ongoing support beyond funding, including guidance for organisational development, training on fundraising strategies, and connections with other conservation organisations and experts.
The long-term support offered by The Neptune Fund will enable our partners to plan ambitiously for future impact. By rapidly and significantly increasing funding for effective, locally-led ocean conservation, the fund will make a vital contribution to the protection and restoration of our priceless marine ecosystems.