Ocean Programme2024-02-06T16:42:21+00:00

Ocean Programme

Image © Shutterstock/Andrea Izzotti

Building a flourishing future for ocean life

Octopus graphic

The ocean is fundamentally important to life on Earth. From its glittering turquoise shallows to its inky depths, the ocean makes up 97 per cent of the liveable space on our planet, home to an estimated 2.2 million species, and supports the livelihoods of over three billion people. Ocean currents are key to global weather patterns, while processes in the ocean produce half of the world’s oxygen, and ocean ecosystems absorb a quarter of the carbon dioxide and over 90 per cent of the heat emitted by humanity.

Our Programme

The Ocean Programme aims to address critical yet often less familiar and underfunded conservation challenges for the global ocean. Ocean conservation work only receives a very small percentage of total environment funding from UK trusts and foundations, demonstrating an urgent need to increase support to the blue heart of our planet. The focus of this Programme is to increase funding and support for work in the following three key strands:

A close-up of the face of a painted wooden Malagan carving with strong use of shapes (circular eyes, triangular nose), two long feather-like structures either side of the head and a bunch of sticks growing out of the head

Communities and Culture

Supporting community-led marine conservation, rights and culture.

An underwater photo with mangrove tree roots and rich coral life with one yellow striped fish

Species and Ecosystems

Protecting overlooked and underfunded species and ecosystems.

Five people sitting at a long wooden table with their laptops, some of them wearing white devices over their ears, there are wooden signs in front of the people with the names of their organisations and one of them appears to be watching something happening on the other side of the room

Research and Policy

Supporting systemic change through better policy and implementation.

* Images (L to R): Ailan Awareness; iStock; IISD

“What I particularly like is that Synchronicity Earth really think about what they are supporting and funding and the result of that has been a focus on some areas which other people have neglected – in terms of funding – but which are incredibly important.”

Professor Alex Rogers, Director of science at REV Ocean

Image © Shutterstock/Wanida Tubtawee

Partner Profile: Bloom Association

Bloom Association is a small but mighty French NGO fighting to prevent destruction of the marine environment. Among its many achievements, Bloom Association was instrumental in getting a ban on deep-sea trawling below 800 metres in the Northeast Atlantic which came into force at the beginning of 2017.

Founder Claire Nouvian was awarded the Goldman Environmental Prize (Europe) in 2018 for her work to combat deep-sea trawling. Bloom is also conducting powerful campaigns on sustainable fishing and damaging electric fishing.

OUR OCEAN PARTNERS

Bloom Association team © Goldman Environmental Prize

Image © Goldman Environmental Prize

“Emptying the ocean at the pace we are currently doing is a huge issue. We need to look at the reality of subsidies out there, whether it’s access to private banking or public subsidies, to ensure that we stop creating a financial incentive to destroy the ocean. When I say destroying the ocean, there is no question that is what we are doing – we’re destroying marine habitats, fish populations and jobs which depend on fish populations.”

Claire Nouvian, Bloom Association

Image © NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration

Spotlight on Species: Sawfish

Sawfish

Sawfish_credit Simon Fraser University (1)

Image © Simon Fraser University

You only need to take one look at these animals to understand where they got their name. With a distinctive, toothed snout that bares an uncanny resemblance to a saw, sawfish are easy to identify (note that they are different from swordfish, which are named after a different man-made object). While they look like a very quirky shark, sawfish are actually classed as rays, and are found in tropical shallows of both marine and freshwater environments. Their incredible facial appendages have been found to be able to detect electric currents, giving sawfish a ‘sixth sense’ when catching prey in murky waters.

Sadly, sawfish are arguably the most endangered group of marine fishes in the world, with all five species of sawfish being classified as Critically Endangered or Endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List of Threatened Species. Their intricate snout leaves them highly vulnerable to entanglement in fishing nets, and they are also valued for use in traditional medicine and for cultural purposes.

“The wonderful morphology of these species, with their long, highly distinctive tooth-nosed snout, makes them a truly striking and iconic image of our seas. Unfortunately, this unique feature has sadly been the cause of their own ruin…”

– Dr. Simon Stuart, Synchronicity Earth Chief Scientific Adviser

The ocean is a vast, relatively unknown but critical support system for the health, wellbeing and survival of all life on Earth. Through our Ocean Programme we identify, fund and support people and organisations helping to protect extraordinary ocean species and habitats, working with and for the communities that depend on them. At the same time, our programme explores systemic work to support research and influence policy that can contribute to better understanding of the issues affecting our ocean and more robust measures to protect it.

Ocean News

In it for the long haul: Protecting 16,000 km2 of EU seabed

In it for the long haul: Protecting 16,000 km2 of EU seabed

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A victory for our ocean, 20 years in the making

A victory for our ocean, 20 years in the making

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The high seas, or regions of the ocean beyond national borders, make up 50 per cent of earth’s area. They are home to (...)

A long-term commitment to our ocean: the Neptune Fund

A long-term commitment to our ocean: the Neptune Fund

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There is an urgent need for increased long-term funding to support effective ocean conservation action. Mainstream ocea (...)

Our connection with the ocean

Our connection with the ocean

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The ocean is intrinsically entwined with our experience of the world, influencing our climate, our air, our food, our e (...)

Reflections from the United Nations Ocean Conference

Reflections from the United Nations Ocean Conference

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The new and improved Ocean Programme sets sail

The new and improved Ocean Programme sets sail

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Our High and Deep Seas Programme has been focused on these two overlooked areas of marine conservation for seven years. (...)

If you are interested in supporting our Ocean Programme, please get in touch.

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