Looking back at 2022, I am humbled by the incredible work the SOA team brought to life. It was a record-breaking fundraising year, which allowed us to accelerate dozens of new ocean solutions that you can read about in this report. We now have more than 7,000 young ocean leaders around the world, and 82 hubs across 77 countries. The team came together for the first time since the pandemic at the United Nations Ocean Conference in Portugal, where we proudly cohosted the Youth and Innovation Forum. Many of us met in person for the very first time on the beautiful beach in Cascais, where we had the honor to watch more than 120 youth devise real-world solutions to some of the greatest threats facing our ocean – and even enjoyed a surprise appearance from actor and activist Jason Momoa! From our realized impact to strengthening internal bonds, it was truly SOA's greatest year yet.
Now looking forward to 2023, it is clear we still have so much work to do. We are bracing for the defining climate fight of our generation – deep-seabed mining. SOA has been campaigning vigorously against this destructive practice for more than two years, and recently delivered a collaborative petition with more than a quarter of a million signatures calling for a moratorium. The International Seabed Authority is set to vote on whether to allow the mining of the deep sea in July, and if approved, it could be open for business that very month. In the history of the destruction of our planet, our generation has never been present to prevent detrimental actions from taking place. This is why we are spending so much of our time restoring, regenerating, and rehabilitating. But now, we can prevent this horrific practice from ever starting. We cannot afford to stay silent and do nothing. We cannot afford to stay on the sidelines and watch those in power determine our fate and our future. This is why we must urgently continue to build our network of young ocean leaders – and ocean allies of all ages. It is critical we have a voice in world-altering decisions, as it is our future most at stake.
While we know we have our work cut out for us, I hope you are as inspired and buoyed by this report as I am. The climate crisis cannot be solved by one person. But together, we are creating meaningful change to protect our planet, our future, and each other.
Daniela V. Fernandez
Founder and CEO,
Sustainable Ocean Alliance
Our global network of people and solutions are making a measurable impact. These numbers are cumulative through December 31, 2022.
Sustainable Ocean Alliance takes a unique approach to solving key ocean challenges. By allocating funding across nonprofit grants, market-driven startup investments, and local initiatives, we support a diverse community of ocean solutions. This unique strategy has led to SOA supporting 266 ocean solutions across 77 countries over the past 5 years.
Through collaboration with ocean impact entrepreneurs, investors, philanthropists, and scientific advisors, we have developed a methodology for organizing and collecting impact data across five key ocean areas. Each solution represented in this report falls into one or more of these impact categories. We hope that this report will encourage funders to allocate more resources towards solving these ocean challenges.
—
Craig Dudenhoeffer
Chief Impact & Investments Officer
2022 IMPACT:
1,143 metric tons of CO2 avoided or removed
Greenhouse gasses (GHGs) absorb infrared solar radiation and trap heat in the atmosphere, resulting in global warming, climate change, increased ocean temperatures and sea level rise. CO2, one of the most common GHGs, is absorbed by the ocean, which in turn, causes ocean acidification. In 2022, 36.8 gigatons of carbon (CO2) were emitted globally.
By supporting solutions that remove or avoid GHG emissions, or that sequester and store CO2, SOA can help reduce these harmful environmental effects and improve the health of our ocean.
2022 IMPACT:
1,794 metric tons of waste removed, avoided, or recycled
(including 446 metric tons of plastic)
Every year, 11 million metric tons of plastic enter our marine environments, killing marine life, destroying sensitive ocean ecosystems, and polluting food sources that support livelihoods around the world.
SOA champions solutions that remove these harmful pollutants from the ocean or avoid their use altogether. Their work in turn helps to build the circular economy, which promotes the extension of product lifecycles through recycling and upcycling, and aims to decrease solid waste and pollution.
2022 IMPACT:
Marine and coastal ecosystems protect crucial biodiversity, and provide services vital to our existence. These areas include coral reefs, seagrass meadows, mangrove forests, salt marshes, and the deep seabed. Together, they serve as critical areas for wildlife reproduction, nurseries for marine organisms, and landscapes for carbon capture.
Solutions in this category measure impact by reporting the area of marine habitat they restore or protect. In 2022, this included establishing 3,573 square meters of coral reef, and planting 19,425 mangroves. This category also includes 11 projects related to local education and advocacy around the detrimental impacts of deep-seabed mining.
2022 IMPACT:
56.9 metric tons of Blue Foods Produced
55 metric tons of bycatch avoided
More than three billion people rely on seafood as a primary source of protein, and 260 million depend on fisheries for their livelihoods. Overfishing, and illegal and industrial practices are killing wildlife and destroying wild places. At the same time, aquaculture seeks to meet demand and reduce the burden on the ocean, but can result in high levels of pollution if not performed sustainably.
Emerging alternatives to any form of aquatically-derived animal protein are plant-based and new methods of cellular agriculture. SOA supports solutions that produce sustainable Blue Foods and those that help move our food systems towards a sustainable future.
2022 IMPACT:
3,149 People Trained or Educated
156 Reports & Publications
296 Workshops
Ocean data, literacy, and research projects help us build the knowledge base we need to activate all other ocean solutions. While there may not be a singular category to measure their impact, in 2022 we have elected to report on education, training, and knowledge sharing.
The majority of projects in this category represent grants to SOA's global community, via Hubs. Through hosting over 150 events and activations around the world, their work has engaged over 200,000 people. These projects inform policy, drive innovation, and equip new audiences with the knowledge they need to become change agents in their own right.
Grant
Portugal
Europe & United Kingdom
Ocean Data, Literacy & Research
Eugénia Barroca
Ocean Hub Portugal will organize and host a series of webinars and podcasts, talking to experts on different aspects of the Deep Seabed Mining conversation. This will raise awareness about the issue in Portugal and throughout Portuguese-Speaking countries. In addition, Ocean Hub Portugal will create a board game - both physical and virtual, that circles around the theme deep seabed mining to make learning about the policies and international processes surrounding deep seabed mining entertaining. The game will be launched and promoted during World Oceans Day, in June 2021.
Learn MoreStartup
United Kingdom
Europe & United Kingdom
Ocean Data, Literacy & Research
Ellie Mackay, Alex Dilnot-Smith
Ellipsis Earth scans rivers and coastlines with drones, processes these images with a uniquely-trained algorithm to create detailed heatmaps of hotspots, and advises partners on the best approaches to tackle each pollution challenge.
Learn MoreGrant
Indonesia
Asia
Ecosystems and Species: Preservation & Restoration
Imanda Hikmat Pradana
The coral reef in the water off Liya Village has been consistently destroyed with bombs and cyanide in the last decade as fishermen have turned to these desperate measures to catch fish. Through Rare's Fish Forever Program in 2017, we were able to established a total of 739 ha of managed access + Reserve in Liya Village, providing local fishers with clear rights to access fish stock in the area. A community group named Posa'asa was also formed with the hope that it would enable fishers to have a platform to adopt more sustainable and better-regulated fishing behaviors. As part of this project, over 300 coral were planted.
Learn MoreGrant
Cameroon
Africa
Greenhouse Gas: Blue Carbon & CO2e Removal or Avoidance
Forbi Nyosai
Forbi Perise (SOA Regional Representative for Africa) will bring 70 students from around Cameroon to visit mangrove forests as part of an initiative to train 115 young professionals on the importance of blue carbon ecosystems and how to preserve them.
Learn MoreStartup
France
Europe & United Kingdom
Ocean Data, Literacy & Research
Antoine Thebaud
Sea Proven develops Autonomous Laboratory Vessels that will house various sensors onboard to collect different types of real-time ocean data simultaneously.
Learn MoreGrant
Portugal
Europe & United Kingdom
Ocean Data, Literacy & Research
Filipa Vieira
M do Mar is an ocean literacy project that has 3 components involving over 26 activities over 6 months: 1. Menu do Mar: partnerships with coastal restaurants on the shoreline of Vila Nova de Gaia (North of Portugal) to develop ocean literacy activities for the children that go to the restaurant with their families; 2. Mães do Mar (mothers of the sea), is an educational and leisure project in the Algarve (Albufeira), south of Portugal that promotes ocean literacy through the Rock Pooling experience and it is articulated for family experiences on the beach, schools, kindergartens; 3. Mar Profundo (Deep Sea): a board game of strategic management of deep-sea ecosystems, to be used as an educational resource
Learn MoreGrant
Indonesia
Asia
Greenhouse Gas: Blue Carbon & CO2e Removal or Avoidance
Innandya Irawan
CarbonEthics is a startup, non-profit organization that aims to educate individuals and institutions about how to reduce and offset their carbon footprints. Blue Carbon Ecosystem is a project to directly sequester carbon through the conservation and restoration of coastal habitats (mangroves, seagrass, and coral) while also enhancing the livelihood of local communities. Through this grant, stakeholder mappings are being conducted, carbon stock potential is being assessed, and the organization is gaining formal government accreditation. Income generated from offsets as a result of this project goes directly to blue carbon-farmers.
Learn MoreGrant
United Kingdom, Kenya
Africa
Ecosystems and Species: Preservation & Restoration
Mark Huxham
10 students from the communities surrounding two mangrove forests, Mikoko Pamoja and Vanga Blue Forest, will be recruited and trained in forest monitoring and conservation to continue to provide over 7,000 tonnes of verified carbon offsets each year. This meets the important need these communities have for training and capacity building among local youth to engage them practical conservation projects. They will learn how to collect and analyze forest data, and receive training on key concepts of climate change, carbon sequestration and conservation that underpin the maintenance of these 'Blue Carbon' ecosystems.
Learn MoreGrant
Indonesia
Asia
Pollution: Waste Reduction & Circular Use
Reny Septiani
Palu, the capital of Central Sulawesi, Indonesia, is densely populated and has insufficient waste management. This group, the Seangle Movement, is a Palu-local youth movement that aims to combat plastic pollution. They do this through their Waste Education House program, which gives youth art education, recycling/upcycling education, and English language education to cohorts of 30 elementary school students per year. They also have a waste collection point, and the funds from the sale of recycled materials go toward continued educational programming.
Learn More
