Blue Catalyst Fund
De-risking and scaling blue carbon projects to boost the resilience of coastal communities and ecosystems.
The Trafigura Foundation is backing a recoverable grant facility dedicated to accelerating the conservation and restoration of mangroves and other coastal ecosystems, enhancing their capacity to buffer against climate shocks while providing dependable livelihoods for local people.
The challenge
Mangroves stabilize coastlines, reduce erosion and shield communities from storms and rising seas. They store vast amounts of carbon – up to ten times more per hectare than terrestrial forests – helping mitigate climate change. For local communities, they provide food, timber, and tourism income, while serving as nurseries for marine life.
Yet mangroves face severe threats from human activity and environmental change. Coastal development, aquaculture, and deforestation have destroyed nearly half the world’s mangroves. Pollution, rising temperatures and sea levels further stress these ecosystems. Conservation is hampered by factors including limited funding, technical challenges, and competing interests.
Blue carbon projects could help reverse this trend. Although participation in voluntary carbon markets has increased in recent years, from 0.2% to 0.35%, it remains limited. Most projects stall at an early stage due to a lack of technical expertise, upfront financing, and the support needed to attract investors.
The solution
The Blue Catalyst Fund accelerates mangrove conservation and restoration projects around the world with the potential to deliver significant and lasting benefits for people, nature and the climate.
The Fund is a not-for-profit facility that provides end-to-end support to bring early-stage blue carbon projects to investment readiness – combining structured capacity building with vetted blue carbon specialists, milestone-based early-stage funding, and tailored support to help projects attract follow-on investment.
Projects must develop detailed restoration plans that meet high feasibility standards and demonstrate that local communities are genuine partners in design, decision-making, and benefit-sharing to qualify for support. Because successful projects repay their grants, returned capital is recycled into future cohorts – creating a revolving fund designed to become financially self-sustaining over time.
Partnership impact
With support from The Trafigura Foundation and other backers, the Blue Catalyst Fund aims to support 10–15 carefully vetted carbon projects in its initial cohorts. By 2035, across all cohorts, the Fund has set targets including:
- Over 324,000 people in coastal communities positively impacted
- 85+ projects supported, with 60% receiving follow-on investment
- More than USD 275 million in follow-on investment unlocked
- Over 150,000 hectares of coastal ecosystem protected or restored
- More than 32 million tonnes of CO₂e avoided or removed over the lifetime of projects
- USD 282 million in benefits shared directly with local communities
Learn more about the Blue Catalyst Fund
Other partnerships in the same area of work
Accelerating the growth and impact of community-led conservation in Africa
Responding rapidly and effectively to humanitarian crises
