From providing food and livelihoods for millions of people, to regulating our planet's climate, oceans are essential to the health and well-being of all life on Earth. However, our growing demand on marine resources is depleting and degrading our oceans — our greatest ally against climate change.
To prevent mass extinctions, maintain ecosystem function and address climate change, at least 30 percent of the world’s ocean must be protected by 2030. Simultaneously, the entire ocean must be sustainably managed to support growing populations and economies, maintain food security and preserve the livelihoods and culture of coastal communities.
Protecting our oceans is a matter of survival, of equity and of climate justice. Now is the time to secure a new future for the world’s oceans — and all who depend on it.
What we do
Conservation International’s Center for Oceans conserves marine biodiversity and ecosystems to protect their ecological, social and economic benefits for people and nature.
We apply science-based approaches and innovative programming to address the most urgent problems, build strong strategic partnerships, and above all, prioritize social equity and the interests of the communities with which we work. Conservation International focuses on three important areas: expanding durable marine protections, promoting sustainable fisheries management and advancing ocean-based solutions to climate adaptation and mitigation.
Historically, these priorities have often been managed separately, by many different organizations — however these challenges require integrated efforts to be effective. We work together with partners to find solutions that cut across traditional barriers and maximize our impact. Our goal is to create lasting change that benefits the health of our oceans and the communities that depend on them.
Protecting marine ecosystems
Approximately 8 percent of the ocean is protected, a level far short of the 30 percent necessary to sustain the ocean’s current benefits for people and the environment. Conservation International is building on lessons from successfully managed marine protected areas worldwide and incorporating the traditional knowledge and needs of Indigenous peoples to expand and strengthen large-scale ocean conservation around the world.
Promoting sustainable seafood production
With 214 million tons of seafood harvested in 2020 alone, global fisheries and aquaculture production is at a record high. To help feed and nourish the world’s growing population, Conservation International promotes sustainable production models that link food security and economic development to the long-term health of fish populations.
Supporting communities' climate resilience
Around 680 million people live in low-lying coastal zones, and that number is expected to increase to a billion by 2050. Conservation International applies practical, science-based approaches to advance climate adaptation and mitigation, bringing together public, private and community partners.
How we do it
Building capacity and supporting local organizations
Conservation International is making critical investments in local partner organizations that are protecting our oceans — in many cases using the direct experiences of local communities and Indigenous people who live closest to nature. We are combining their expertise and knowledge with our own, while supporting local talent and leadership.
Social equity, justice and economic opportunity
Promoting the rights of the people where we work is central to how we design our work and pursue partnership. It’s the right thing to do — and we know it leads to better, more durable outcomes for people and nature.
Partners — big and small, public and private
Working together is the best way to achieve the pace and scale of impact needed. We build and maintain purpose-driven, trusted partnerships with shared goals and complementary approaches.
Integrated program design
Our solutions must be as adaptable and multi-faceted as the problems facing our oceans today. To ensure durable impact, we conduct research and deploy programming that cuts across the traditionally siloed priorities of ocean conservation, sustainable fisheries management, and climate change mitigation and adaptation.
Team members working locally and globally
Our 50+ person team is dedicated to advancing ocean conservation both abroad and in their home countries. Through our hubs in Washington D.C., Hawai‘i, Costa Rica and New Zealand, the Center for Oceans works with a global network of partners to enable strategic program design and the delivery of tangible impacts.
By the numbers
Our Experts
Mark Erdmann, Ph.D.
Vice President, Marine, Asia-Pacific Field Division
Mark Erdmann, Ph.D.
Vice President, Marine, Asia-Pacific Field Division
Dr. Mark Erdmann is the Vice President of Conservation International’s Asia-Pacific marine programs, tasked with providing strategic guidance and technical and fundraising support to focal marine programs in Conservation International’s Asia Pacific Field Division, including especially the Bird’s Head Seascape and Pacific Oceanscape initiatives, as well as marine programs in China, the Philippines, Timor-Leste, Papua New Guinea, New Caledonia, Samoa and the Coral Triangle Initiative (CTI). He is also the Director of CI New Zealand.
Mark is a coral reef ecologist (Ph.D. University of California, Berkeley) who is now based in New Zealand, though he previously lived and worked in Indonesia for 23 years. During his time there he launched and directed the Bird’s Head Seascape initiative for over a decade, developing it into one of Conservation International's flagship marine programs globally. Mark is an avid diver and has logged over 12,000 scuba dives while surveying marine biodiversity throughout the region, discovering and describing over 170 new species of reef fish and mantis shrimp in the process.
He has published 214 scientific articles and five books, including most recently the three-volume set “Reef Fishes of the East Indies” with colleague Dr. Gerald Allen, and has been a scientific advisor to numerous natural history documentary films for the BBC, National Geographic and NHK. Erdmann was awarded a Pew Fellowship in Marine Conservation in 2004 for his work in marine conservation education and training for Indonesian schoolchildren, members of the press, and the law enforcement community. Though his work is now largely focused on the management of marine protected areas, his continuing research interests include reef fish and mantis shrimp biodiversity, satellite and acoustic telemetry of endangered elasmobranch species, and genetic connectivity in MPA networks.
In recent years Mark has devoted significant time to supporting the Indonesian government in its efforts to improve conservation and management of its sharks and rays, including the designation of the world’s largest manta ray sanctuary in 2014. Mark maintains a research associate position with the California Academy of Sciences, supervises several Master’s and PhD students at the University of Auckland, and is active on the boards of a number of NGOs working in the Coral Triangle, including Thrive Conservation and Manta Trust. Mark and his wife Arnaz and three children (Mica, Brahm and Cruz) live in Auckland, where he maintains a deep personal commitment to do whatever is necessary to ensure his children will be able to enjoy the same high-quality underwater experiences that continue to provide the inspiration for his dedication to the marine environment.
Dr. Mark Erdmann is the Vice President of Conservation International’s Asia-Pacific marine programs, tasked with providing strategic guidance and technical and fundraising support to focal marine programs in Conservation International’s Asia Pacific Field Division, including especially the Bird’s Head Seascape and Pacific Oceanscape initiatives, as well as marine programs in China, the Philippines, Timor-Leste, Papua New Guinea, New Caledonia, Samoa and the Coral Triangle Initiative (CTI). He is also the Director of CI New Zealand.
Mark is a coral reef ecologist (Ph.D. University of California, Berkeley) who is now based in New Zealand, though he previously lived and worked in Indonesia for 23 years. During his time there he launched and directed the Bird’s Head Seascape initiative for over a decade, developing it into one of Conservation International's flagship marine programs globally. Mark is an avid diver and has logged over 12,000 scuba dives while surveying marine biodiversity throughout the region, discovering and describing over 170 new species of reef fish and mantis shrimp in the process.
He has published 214 scientific articles and five books, including most recently the three-volume set “Reef Fishes of the East Indies” with colleague Dr. Gerald Allen, and has been a scientific advisor to numerous natural history documentary films for the BBC, National Geographic and NHK. Erdmann was awarded a Pew Fellowship in Marine Conservation in 2004 for his work in marine conservation education and training for Indonesian schoolchildren, members of the press, and the law enforcement community. Though his work is now largely focused on the management of marine protected areas, his continuing research interests include reef fish and mantis shrimp biodiversity, satellite and acoustic telemetry of endangered elasmobranch species, and genetic connectivity in MPA networks.
In recent years Mark has devoted significant time to supporting the Indonesian government in its efforts to improve conservation and management of its sharks and rays, including the designation of the world’s largest manta ray sanctuary in 2014. Mark maintains a research associate position with the California Academy of Sciences, supervises several Master’s and PhD students at the University of Auckland, and is active on the boards of a number of NGOs working in the Coral Triangle, including Thrive Conservation and Manta Trust. Mark and his wife Arnaz and three children (Mica, Brahm and Cruz) live in Auckland, where he maintains a deep personal commitment to do whatever is necessary to ensure his children will be able to enjoy the same high-quality underwater experiences that continue to provide the inspiration for his dedication to the marine environment.
