Dr Theresa Mundita Lim concludes her six-year tenure as the centre’s first female executive director, where she championed a regional biodiversity fund, among other initiatives.
The initiative is philanthropy-led and will extend beyond traditional Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) to cover conservation of more existing ocean ecosystems. Less than 3 per cent of the region's national waters are under formal protection but a deadline to meet a global conservation target looms.
Ahead of COP29, a study by International Institute for Environment and Development shows that Asia's least developed countries have debt growing at a faster rate than climate support.