Blue Ventures
Alasdair
Harris
Founder
Mission
We have created the largest community-managed marine reserves in the Indian Ocean, and pioneered ambitious research programmes tackling critical issues facing marine biodiversity conservation and resource-dependent coastal communities. Alongside our work in fisheries management and protected area development, our programmes encompass marine and fisheries research, endangered species conservation, and environmental education and community capacity building. Beyond more ‘conventional’ approaches to conservation, we also manage sustainable aquaculture initiatives, family planning and public health projects, and advocate at national and international levels for fisheries policy reform. Our projects now focus on replicating and scaling-up conservation activities at national and international levels in the Indopacific and Atlantic regions. At our core, we’re a social enterprise - innovating new approaches to financing marine conservation, and generating much of our conservation funding independently. Business models include highly acclaimed ecotourism programmes, blue carbon initiatives, and village-based sustainable aquaculture projects.
Category
Environment
Additional Information
We are an award-winning marine conservation organisation, dedicated to working with local communities to conserve threatened marine environments. Our acclaimed conservation programmes work with some of the world’s poorest coastal people to develop conservation and poverty alleviation initiatives that protect biodiversity and coastal livelihoods. The results of our work help us to propose new ideas to benefit coastal communities everywhere.