Coast Funds – The Great Bear Sea

Coast Funds is an Indigenous-led Canadian organisation specialising in conservation finance. It is dedicated to supporting coastal First Nations, principally in British Columbia’s Great Bear Rainforest and Haida Gwaii, in conservation, ecosystem stewardship, and sustainable economic development.  

The Great Bear Sea extends from northern Vancouver Island to the Canada-Alaska border. The region is one of the richest and most productive cold-water marine ecoregions on Earth, home to marine life from herring and salmon to whales, dolphins, seabirds, and kelp forests. Stewarded by First Nations for tens of thousands of years, the Great Bear Sea is a source of sustenance, culture, and livelihoods. 

The ERF grant is contributing to the Great Bear Sea Project Finance for Permanence (PFP) – a landmark initiative led by 17 First Nations, backed by $335 million from federal, provincial, and philanthropic sources. Specifically, it will support the implementation of the Marine Protected Area (MPA) Network Action Plan and the Marine Plan Partnership, covering 3 million hectares of MPAs within 10 million hectares of conserved waters, and helping to protect at least 84 species at risk. The initiative also supports community prosperity and wellbeing amount indigenous communities in the region, and is aiming to create 3,000 new jobs over the next 10 years.