The Bezos Earth Fund was established in 2020 and is led by Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez Bezos.
The Bezos Earth Fund is committing more than $25 million to ocean conservation initiatives across five Pacific nations. According to the organisation’s announcement, the latest funding will support conservation efforts in the Cook Islands, Kiribati, Papua New Guinea, Tonga and Vanuatu, along with plans to establish marine protected areas in international waters.
The projects collectively cover more than 625,000 square miles of ocean—an area larger than Alaska.
The latest grants are part of a broader $100 million commitment announced by the Bezos Earth Fund in 2023 to support the Pacific-led Unlocking Blue Pacific Prosperity initiative. With this latest round of funding, the fund, established by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, says it has now committed $63.3 million towards that pledge.
Bezos Earth Fund backs five Pacific nations
The new grants will support a range of ocean conservation initiatives across the five countries.
- Cook Islands: Funding will help advance the country’s Marae Moana ocean management plan, including expanding marine protections, strengthening monitoring and supporting local leadership.
- Kiribati: The funding will support marine spatial planning, help identify important ocean habitats, strengthen existing protected areas and improve monitoring and enforcement.
- Papua New Guinea: The funding will help the country work towards establishing its first large offshore marine protected area while strengthening community-led stewardship of coastal waters.
- Tonga: Support will be used to establish new protected areas and improve monitoring and enforcement. Tonga has set a target of protecting 30% of its ocean.
- Vanuatu: The funding will support implementation of the country’s national marine spatial plan, including offshore conservation areas and community-led marine management initiatives.
Bezos Earth Fund expands focus to international waters
The latest funding is not limited to waters under the jurisdiction of individual countries. A separate grant to Rare will support Pacific governments in developing some of the first proposals for marine protected areas in international waters.
The UN High Seas Treaty entered into force in January 2026, providing a legal framework for countries to establish marine protected areas in areas beyond national jurisdiction.
Under the initiative, Pacific governments will work with regional experts to identify ecologically important areas of the high seas and develop proposals aimed at protecting them.
Lauren Sánchez Bezos, Vice Chair of the Bezos Earth Fund, said the organisation’s support was intended to strengthen conservation efforts already being led by Pacific communities.
“Every kid falls in love with the ocean before anyone tells them it’s in trouble. I was that kid. I still am. This summer I spent time in the Pacific, and the water was everything you’d imagine. But what I keep coming back to is the people. Out there, the ocean isn’t just a beautiful view. It’s the road, the pantry, the backyard. They’ve been protecting it for generations because their lives depend on it. Nobody had to explain the stakes to them. So, this is us backing what they’ve already been doing. Five nations. Protection that lasts for generations to come,” she said.
How the latest $25 million funding relates to Bezos’ 2023 pledge
The latest grants stem from a commitment made by the Bezos Earth Fund at COP28 in 2023.
At the time, the organisation announced plans to provide up to $100 million to help Pacific Island leaders develop and implement the Unlocking Blue Pacific Prosperity conservation initiative.
The programme aims to sustainably manage 100% of the Blue Pacific Continent while protecting at least 30% of the region by 2030.
According to the 2023 announcement, the initiative is expected to protect more than 1 billion hectares of ocean while supporting the restoration of coral reefs, mangroves and other coastal ecosystems.
The latest announcement represents the second round of funding under the $100 million commitment. In 2025, the Earth Fund announced seven grants worth a combined $37.5 million.
With the latest grants, the organisation says its total funding under the Pacific commitment has reached $63.3 million.
More Pacific countries join conservation efforts
The Bezos Earth Fund said work supported by its earlier grants is already underway.
Earlier this year, French Polynesia established a network of fully protected marine areas covering nearly 625,000 square miles of ocean.
In Niue, where 40% of the country’s national waters are already protected, funding from the Earth Fund is supporting monitoring, enforcement and long-term financing for conservation efforts.
Following the latest round of grants, the Bezos Earth Fund said 17 of the Pacific’s 22 countries and territories are now involved in efforts to protect or sustainably manage their marine waters.
