USAID backs $6.3 million Madagascan sea cucumber and seaweed project

The orgnisation says that the initiatives are part of its effort “to elevate climate work and address the climate crisis”, by initiating new programs that address the conference themes.

These include:

• Several programs to advance small-scale fisheries and aquaculture, including up to $21 million to address the drivers of illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing in the Pacific Islands region through the OurFish OurFuture and Pacific Coastal Fisheries Management and Compliance projects; and the new Sustainable Fish Asia project, which will award up to $13.9 million to improve management of marine biodiversity and fisheries resources in the Indo-Pacific region.
• The $15 million Climate Resilient Cities program in the Philippines, to help climate vulnerable cities strengthen their resilience by adapting to, mitigating, and enduring the impacts of climate change.
• The $6.3 million NOSY MANGA Restorative Aquaculture for Nature and Communities project. This is a public-private partnership between USAID and Madagascar (which is contributing $2.5 million) Ocean Farmers, and Indian Ocean Trepang to create sustainable blue economies through scalable market-based aquaculture of seaweed and sea cucumber and to support community-based sustainable management of marine resources.