Mirova Foundation announces the 3 winners of its call for projects dedicated to the world’s oceans

12 June, Paris – Mirova Foundation, the endowment fund of Mirova, a mission-led company specialising in sustainable finance, is pleased to announce the three winners of its third call for projects: ‘Ocean and Climate: Transforming practices and changing behaviour.’ The three projects will be supported for three years for a total amount of 500,000 €..

The world’s oceans play a crucial role in preserving biodiversity and regulating the climate. Yet the issues at stake are underestimated and misunderstood, and their relative share of philanthropic sector funding remains extremely low. For this reason, Mirova Foundation focused its selection process on three key areas: fostering a sustainable and equitable ocean economy, increasing communities’ resilience to ocean risks, and changing humanity’s relationship with the sea.

In addition to sustained financial support at a pivotal time for the three winning associations, Mirova Foundation will be providing them with personalised, individually tailored assistance, including skills sponsorship from Mirova employees, to help them expand these initiatives, which offer plausible, visible solutions to the challenges facing our oceans.

Discover the winners of the ‘Ocean and Climate: Transforming practices and changing behaviour’ call for project

• PLEINE MER – Taking action for sustainable fishing

Created in 2018, the Pleine Mer association contributes to a sustainable transition in fishing that supports those engaged in it, as well as citizens and the environment. Its aim is to protect the oceans and promote the development of sustainable fishing as well as aquaculture methods and management. The primary aim of the ‘Mer de Liens’ project is topush back against the collapse of small-scale artisanal fishing and promote environmentally friendly fishing techniques. The association works to provide financial and logistical support to help establish young sustainable fishermen, and to change the system for allocating fishing quotas, which currently favours established firms which often rely on industrial fishing practices that are harmful to the seabed.

Mirova Foundation has become Pleine Mer’s main support, providing them with means to act on their worthy ambition and buttressing efforts to design new models that advance sustainable fishing.

• UNDER THE POLE – Supporting scientific research and innovation while raising awareness

Under The Pole is the result of more than 15 years’ experience dedicated to better knowledge and preservation of the oceans. As part of the United Nations Decade of Ocean Sciences (2021-2030), the DeepLife programme is run jointly by Under The Pole, the CNRS and an international scientific consortium. Its main objective is to explore and understand the functioning of marine forests in the mesophotic zone at ocean depths between 30 and 200 metres, and their role in regulating the climate.

Mirova Foundation is strengthening the association’s capabilities by supporting Under The Pole in its efforts to raise awareness, popularise ocean science and lobby decision-makers and the public to take actions protecting these little-known areas.

• CORAL GUARDIAN – Developing coral restoration projects and creating an international network of high-impact local initiatives

Founded in 2012 and endorsed by the United Nations Decade of Ecosystem Restoration (2021-2030), Coral Guardian works with local communities to restore and protect coral ecosystems, which are among the first affected by climate change impact and ocean warming, while also playing a key role in mitigating climate-related issues.

Mirova Foundation will support the implementation of two new projects to restore coral reefs and train local populations in Kenya and in French overseas departments and territories, where the association is not yet active.

Mirova Foundation is extremely proud to support these three projects, each of which contributes in its own field to advancing and transforming practices for the benefit of our oceans. That we received a large number of applications, shows the growing involvement – and needs – of the voluntary sector when it comes to these crucial issues. The projects of our three winners offer complementary solutions, and we will be working alongside them for the next three years, putting our expertise to work on their ideas.

We are especially pleased to be supporting with Mirova Foundation three innovative projects to address the issues of ocean protection. These new winners reflect the consistency and resources we mobilize through our endowment fund to support solutions based on nature. As the political world meets in 2025, at the United Nations Ocean Conference in Nice, we send a strong signal to mobilize all the actors around these subjects still too little supported.