Systemiq's Jennifer Ring on financing the protection of coral reefs
Jennifer Ring, associate for sustainable finance at Systemiq, speaks with Uxolo about the Global Fund for Coral Reefs, a blended finance instrument set up to mobilise action and resources to protect and restore coral reef ecosystems.
Jennifer introduces the work done by SYSTEMIQ, a systems change company that partners with business, finance, policy-makers, and civil society to make economic systems sustainable (00:30), explains the importance of coral reefs to the marine ecosystem and coastal economy (01:50), discusses how SYSTEMIQ is one of several players supporting the innovate blended finance instrument called the Global Fund for Coral Reefs (GFCR), which was set up in 2020 to mobilise action and resources to protect and restore coral reef ecosystems (03:30).
Jennifer elaborates on the workings of the two funds – grant and equity – under the GFCR and how SYSTEMIQ is helping build the pipeline for the Equity Fund (04:20), the need to build the ocean as an asset class and the scope to make returns on investments (06:30), the impact of unsustainable tourism on coral reefs and the potential to invest in eco-conscious tourism (09:25), how SYSTEMIQ is building its pipeline of projects (13:10), and setting up the GFCR as a blueprint in impact investing for policymakers and investors (15:00).
You can find out more about the Global Fund for Coral Reefs here: https://globalfundcoralreefs.org/
