Farther out in the ocean, TNC facilitated the establishment of the world’s largest shark sanctuary with the Federated States of Micronesia, Palau, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands and the Marshall Islands, spanning an area of more than 777 million hectares—an area roughly the size of Australia.

In Indonesia, at the Bird’s Head Seascape, the world’s most biodiverse reefs that supports thousands of species – including 70 that cannot be found anywhere else on Earth, TNC worked with the Indonesia government and our conservation partners to launch the Blue Abadi Fund, which is on track to be the world’s largest marine conservation fund. The fund is a powerful example of how local leadership combined with coordinated global support can deliver sustained conservation goals, helping secure the long-term financial sustainability of the Bird’s Head Seascape by providing grants to local communities and agencies.