Lead institution:
The New England Aquarium (through its global Marine Conservation Action Fund [MCAF] Program) – United States of America (USA)

This initiative brings together a diverse multi-national partnership to address the critical need for capacity sharing in ocean science, literacy and conservation in low- and middle-income countries.
We seek to strengthen systems (funding, mentorship, recognition, learning, communication and evaluation) that address the challenges of the Ocean Decade and support the capacity to deliver ocean science and leadership, which is central to healthy oceans and sustainable development. This will proactively advance the integration of capacity sharing in the design and implementation of priorities for the Ocean Decade.
Our project focuses on collectively scaling up support of local leaders in their efforts to develop learning exchanges between stakeholders such as fishers, youth, community members, and new emerging leaders in ocean conservation.
We are extremely excited to work with our project partners below to help achieve the Ocean Decade’s goals by 2030:
- Anna Oposa, Save Philippine Seas
- Andrés López and Ilena Zanella, Misión Tiburón Costa Rica
- Kerstin Forsberg, Planeta Océano
- Daniel Fernando, Blue Resources Trust
- Nelly Noela Kadagi, PhD, African Billfish Foundation and WWF Education for Nature Program
- Lucy Keith-Diagne, PhD, African Aquatic Conservation Fund
- Tomas Diagne, African Chelonian Institute
- John Flynn, Neil Kwabena Davis and Eric Quayson, Wildseas Bahari Karuna
- Francklin Barbier, Haiti Ocean Project
Start Date: 08/06/2021
End Date: 08/06/2024
Lead Contacts: Elizabeth Stephenson (estephenson@neaq.org) and Emily Duwan (eduwan@neaq.org)