By Stewart Mior in Commentary — Oct 24, 2024

Financing Sri Lanka’s Marine Conservation Ambitions: Time for a Reset?

Sri Lanka, as it slowly recovers from the nation’s most severe economic crisis, finds itself at a critical juncture.

This article by Simra Riya originally appeared in GroundViews.

This year marks a significant milestone for Sri Lanka’s biodiversity conservation ambitions – three decades of commitment to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) since its ratification after the Rio Earth Summit. In line with the CBD, Sri Lanka is currently in the process of updating its National Biodiversity Strategic Action Plan (NBSAP) for 2024 to 2030. This document will guide the nation’s conservation efforts and will need to demonstrate its alignment with the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF), which consist of global goals and targets that collectively hold a vision of living in harmony with nature.

The 23 GBF targets, adopted at the 15th Conference of the Parties (COP15) in 2022, set ambitious targets for global conservation efforts. Notably, Target 2 focuses on restoring 30 percent of degraded ecosystems while Target 3, colloquially referred to as “30 by 30”, calls for the effective protection and management of 30 percent of the world’s terrestrial, inland water and coastal and marine areas by 2030. Together, these targets represent the most substantial conservation commitment in history with over 190 countries pledging their support. As global momentum builds towards the ambitious “30 by 30” conservation target Sri Lanka, as it slowly recovers from the nation’s most severe economic crisis, finds itself at a critical juncture. The need to recover economically must be balanced with the imperative to protect and regenerate our natural environment in line with global targets.

Prioritizing marine conservation

When we think of protected areas in Sri Lanka, our minds wander to the lush forests of Sinharaja or the hills of Knuckles. However, as an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, our marine ecosystems and species deserve equal – if not more – attention. Sri Lanka’s oceans boast a rich and diverse array of ecosystems and habitats including coral reefs, seagrass beds, lagoons, mangroves and deep water trenches. Marine protected areas (MPAs) play a crucial role in safeguarding the rich biodiversity of our waters and support over 3,000 species of marine flora and fauna such as coral reef vertebrates, invertebrates, dugongs, marine turtles, sharks, dolphins and whales. As climate change, coral bleaching events and human-induced pressures such as overfishing, pose significant threats to these vital habitats, they are deteriorating at a rapid and dangerous rate .

Sri Lanka’s marine economic zone, a vast expanse covering over 532,000 square kilometers (nearly four times our land area), is also essential for our economic growth. Coastal communities in 14 of the country’s 25 districts rely heavily on marine and coastal ecosystems for their livelihoods. This sector directly and indirectly employs over 583,000 people with an additional 2.7 million individuals in the coastal workforce providing crucial support.

Despite this, our current MPA system safeguards less than 1 percent of our territorial waters and Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). Given the inherent economic value of our marine resources, alongside their broader ecological significance, we must confront a critical question: has Sri Lanka done enough to protect these vital natural assets? Can we afford to continue with business as usual or is a transformative approach urgently needed?

Out of the major candidates who ran in the 2024 presidential election, only one had mentioned the need to protect and conserve MPAs in their manifesto. Amid this seemingly lower attention by our political leaders, global interest and investments in environmental conservation are at an all-time high. If we tap into this interest tactfully we have an opportunity to reframe our development into a success story and build forward differently.

Financing conservation – key insights

Many of the difficulties faced in marine protection ultimately trace back to inadequate funding. There simply isn’t enough money to meet all our conservation needs.

During 2023-2024, the Centre for a Smart Future (CSF) partnered with Blue Resources Trust (BRT) on a research and advocacy project to advance sustainable marine conservation finance in Sri Lanka. Funded by the Oceans 5 consortium, the project seeks to enhance stakeholders’ existing knowledge, address gaps between the marine conservation community and the finance sector and demonstrate practical deployment at sites across the country. Over the course of ten months, CSF convened six Knowledge Roundtables and one Multi Stakeholder Roundtable with a diverse group of participants, introducing them to marine conservation finance concepts and approaches and exploring the relevant instruments and financial mechanisms that can be used to fund conservation efforts. The results of these discussions led to key insights regarding both the challenges stakeholders face in combating the financing of MPAs and what we need to consider moving forward.

Findings from the project revealed that there are a plethora of interconnected issues and urgent threats requiring attention in relation to our MPAs, some that are unique to each MPA and others that are broadly relevant to the country’s marine ecosystems as a whole. Although it is crucial to acknowledge these diverse challenges, this article will specifically concentrate on those related to conservation financing.

A key insight developed in relation to this challenge is the need to demonstrate that conservation is not just the right thing to do but it is the economically smart thing to do. It is vital to develop project pipelines that make economic sense while safeguarding our natural resources. Market volatility and economic fluctuations also pose a significant risk to funding stability. To mitigate this, diversification of funding sources is crucial to reduce reliance on any single source and enhance financial resilience.

It is also essential to tackle the underlying structural financing issues head on. Simply increasing funding for MPAs won’t be enough if the systemic financial barriers to effective management remain unaddressed. Bureaucratic hurdles which lead to lengthy processes and red tape were also identified as a major obstacle, leading to delays in project implementation. Sri Lanka’s environmental decision making landscape is notoriously bureaucratic, often requiring decisions to navigate multiple layers of authority before approval. The roundtable discussions highlighted the need for greater autonomy in decision making among government agencies involved in conservation. Financial incentives should ideally be structured to promote effective systems and empower stakeholders at all levels, from onsite personnel to central offices. Exploring alternative financing instruments could empower local conservation managers to have more control over spending and contribute more effectively to conservation efforts. The ultimate goal would be to foster a sense of ownership and encourage a more agile and responsive approach to conservation decision making.

Another significant challenge lies in aligning the diverse interests and priorities of various stakeholders for effective conservation. The governance of protected areas involves a complex web of actors including government agencies, NGOs, local communities and others. Coordinating these entities can be difficult given their differing priorities and regulatory frameworks. Successful conservation financing therefore hinges on stakeholder consensus regarding key issues, limitations, mechanisms, instrument design and desired outcomes. This therefore necessitates a collaborative approach that bridges the perspectives of these stakeholders.

Conducting thorough stakeholder mapping and analyses is identified as a crucial preliminary step to a finance plan as it provides detailed stakeholder categorizations, identifies users and their uses and needs, assesses costs and benefits and contributes to improving completeness of conservation finance budgeting.

To navigate the complex challenges, Sri Lanka must now opt to embrace innovative strategies. Conservation Trust Funds (CTFs) are one of many innovative financial mechanisms that can be used to mobilize longer term, sustained conservation finance. As CSF noted in this Knowledge Primer, CTFs face operational risks involved with management including governance issues, regulatory compliance and administrative challenges. The implementation of robust management practices and diversifying spending strategies can help mitigate these risks.

Establishing a national Conservation Trust Fund is a possible approach. However, creating two separate funds – one for marine and one for terrestrial conservation – may also be justifiable if donors have specific interests. In moving forward with such an approach building trust with donors is paramount and will require transparency, good governance and a capable management team, as noted by a global expert during a CSF webinar. While two CTFs are feasible, ensuring they have sufficient scale and aligned missions is crucial.

Concluding thoughts

As the 2030 deadline for attaining our global biodiversity commitments draws closer, the pressures around conservation and financing are becoming more acute. The health of our marine ecosystems, which is inextricably linked to our economic prosperity and resilience, continues to face mounting threats. A business as usual approach is no longer tenable. In light of the challenges of financing conservation, we face a stark choice – innovate or stagnate.

It’s time to revisit financing approaches that rely heavily on annual budget allocations and cannot keep up with the urgent needs and forge new and innovative approaches. By carefully considering these various options and aligning them with our unique context, Sri Lanka can work towards charting a more nature-positive economic recovery path – one that safeguards our natural environment and at the same time fosters a sustainable and vibrant future.