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Good practice Imported

MedFund — Trust Fund for Mediterranean Marine Protected Areas

Monaco · Monaco · See the Monaco profile · See the Monaco profile

Evidence: Descriptive / self-reported Top 53% 47/100 · Ask Evidence Copilot about this practice

Established in 2015 by Monaco, France and Tunisia, MedFund has channelled disclosed grants — a €1 million 2019 partnership payment and a further €760,000 five-year tranche — to sustain 20 marine protected areas across 9 Mediterranean countries, covering 9,500+ km².

1 million EUR
2019 partnership commitment (2019)
760000 EUR
Additional five-year funding approved
20
Marine protected areas supported
9,500+ km²
Marine area covered
MedFund — Trust Fund for Mediterranean Marine Protected Areas

Details

Maturity
Established
Promoter
MedFund (Monaco, France & Tunisia); Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation
Period
2015–ongoing
Keywords
marine protected areas, blue carbon/seagrass, biodiversity finance, Mediterranean governance

Context

MedFund is a dedicated environmental trust fund established in 2015 by the governments of Monaco, France and Tunisia, at the initiative of the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation, headquartered in Monaco, to close the chronic financing gap facing Mediterranean marine protected areas, particularly on the southern and eastern shores.

Objectives

The fund aims to channel grants to national agencies and NGOs that manage marine protected areas (MPAs), paying for the recurring operational costs — rangers, monitoring, equipment — that determine whether a protected area functions in practice rather than only on paper.

Activities

In 2019 the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation signed a partnership agreement committing €1 million to improve the effectiveness of around 20 MPAs across the southern and eastern Mediterranean; MedFund has since approved a further €760,000 in five-year funding for protected areas in Turkey, Croatia and Lebanon.

Results

Across its portfolio, MedFund reports having supported 20 marine protected areas in 9 Mediterranean countries, covering more than 9,500 km² of marine ecosystems, several of which include Posidonia oceanica seagrass meadows, a carbon-dense habitat also funded through related grants by the Foundation and partners including WWF and the Stelios Philanthropic Foundation.

Conclusions

As a funding intermediary rather than an implementing agency, MedFund's public reporting is strongest on disbursement figures, MPA counts and area covered; site-level ecological outcome data remains the responsibility of the national agencies and NGOs it funds, not MedFund itself.

Implementation
Indicative cost
Medium (€50k–€500k) — Disclosed grants in the roughly €1–2 million range across a multi-country Mediterranean portfolio.
Time to results
Long (> 3 years) — Standing trust fund operating continuously since 2015.
Staffing & skills
Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation (initiator), MedFund (trust fund backed by Monaco, France and Tunisia), National agencies and NGOs managing individual MPAs

Conditions for success

  • Dedicated trust fund structure headquartered in Monaco
  • Funding directed to recurring operational costs (rangers, monitoring, equipment) rather than one-off capital works
  • Partnerships with WWF and the Stelios Philanthropic Foundation on related seagrass-conservation grants

Commonly funded by

Philanthropic / foundation funding National / regional programmes

Indicative funding routes for practices of this type — always check each programme's current calls and eligibility rules.

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Data sources

Where this practice's information was retrieved from, and when.

Attachments

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