ASU Center for Biodiversity Outcomes Founding Director Leah Gerber recently published a paper titled “Innovative financing for the High Seas,” along with co-author Torsten Thiele, of London School of Economics.

The publication is part of a special issue emerging from a session on innovative financing mechanisms to achieve the United Nation’s Paris Agreement and Sustainable Development Goals, during the 2016 International Union for Conservation of Nature World Conservation Congress session in Honolulu, Hawai’i.

“International waters cover nearly half of the planet's surface, yet governance deficiencies have meant that marine habitats and ecosystems are rapidly deteriorating,” explained the authors.

The paper draws on natural capital economics to propose a comprehensive ocean data infrastructure that could assist in quantifying attractive benefits to funders of ocean conservation projects. As a result, large-scale marine conservation monitoring could become more cost-effective.