LAUSR

Abstract Funding from official development assistance (ODA) and private foundations account for key contributions to marine conservation funding worldwide. Total funding from these two sources increased from approximately USD 700 million per year during 2010–2014 to USD 769 million in 2015. During this time period, private foundation contributions with a marine conservation purpose eclipsed corresponding ODA contributions for the first time in 2015. However, previous analyses have overlooked two other important funding sources: individual contributions to non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and funding through public expenditures (including management costs for fisheries and marine protected areas). The purpose of this study is to better understand the flow of funding to marine conservation globally by tracking trends in ODA and foundation funding and by incorporating approximations for individual contributions to NGOs and public expenditures. Given the difficulty of measuring the latter two sources, proxies are provided here for practical, rather than precise, purposes to illustrate that funding levels are higher than current estimates suggest. Improving data availability, transparency, and coding across all sectors would enable improved tracking and potentially help funders identify both gaps and priorities for investment.