Futures of conservation funding: can Indonesia sustain financing of the Bird’s Head Seascape?

In 2004, Conservation International led an unprecedented coalition of international and local partners in launching the Bird’s Head Seascape Initiative. Protecting the incredible ecological value of West Papua, Indonesia, the Seascape has grown over the past decade into one of the most ambitious and effective marine conservation programs in the world, a model of indigenous community-driven conservation.

Prompted by recent shifts in the Seascape’s traditional funding structure, however, the Bird’s Head Seascape Coalition must rapidly formulate a strategy to transfer management to local bodies and establish a sustainable funding model. Part of a special collection of case studies focused on sustainability, this case puts the reader in the shoes of Laure Katz, Director of Seascapes Program at Conservation International, who must develop and execute this transition strategy, securing the Bird’s Head as a global model for effective, community-driven conservation.