Global Fund for Coral Reefs Investment Window

· Beneficiaries: the Fund is expected to directly benefit those individuals engaged in reef-rst businesses and livelihoods, and indirectly bene t the coastal communities that depend on the targeted reef.
· Increased resilience of the coral reef biome: The Fund will seek to invest in the reduction of stressors that threaten the world’s most resilient reefs because this gives reefs, globally the best chance of survival. Healthy reefs will, in turn increase the health and resilience of related ecosystem services (such as fish stocks and disaster-risk reduction/ buffers to coastal erosion).
· Resilient and ecologically-sustainable livelihoods: healthy reefs and coastal ecosystems are the bedrock for sustainable livelihoods for reef-dependent communities. The Fund is expected to have signi cant co-bene ts in the following economic activities: eco-tourism, sustainable shing and aquaculture, small- scale agriculture, income generation from reef restoration, and waste management.
· Financial returns for the private sector and economic engines in target countries: The Fund will invest in businesses which will prioritize the reduction of key local stressors that threaten coral reefs, which is estimated to have signi cant economic returns generated by three sectors, mainly: tourism, coastal development and commercial sheries.
To make sure that the pipeline and investments will contribute to the Fund's impact potential, we developed a screening tool (attached) to assess each criteria during the reporting year. This is now rolled out to make sure that each deal will be screened against the criteria. Each deal that goes to an investment committee needs to be screened against those criteria. During the reporting year, only

Increased production of food in reef-connected communities
- Sustainable fisheries, mariculture, aquaculture and agriculture.
Increased protection and restoration of coral reef ecosystems
- Coral farming
- Restoration as a tourist activity
- Toursim revenue re-invested in MPAs
Growth in jobs and the local economy
- Direct investees and their employees
- Multiplier effect for wider economy
Improved quality of both coastal waters and freshwater sources
- Reduced contamination from agricultural run off, waste water, seage, plastics, dirty fuel
Increased innovation to support resilience of coral reefs and comunities reliant on coral reefs
Increased market share of sustainable businesses in reef-dependent areas

Gender-sensitive development impact:
• Empowerment from active inclusion of women in consultation processes and positions of leadership, explicit consideration of gender disaggregated-needs in project design, capacity building of women and girls to enable greater roles in environmental stewardship, and greater financial independence.
• Formal employment and improved livelihoods for women and girls, improved working conditions and greater gender parity in pay, and additional incomes that increase the diversity of household incomes, thereby reducing dependence on individual livelihood activities and enhancing financial resilience which is then less susceptible to periodic shocks.
• Improved capacity of communities to adapt to and cope with shocks to reduce safety risks to women and girls and gender violence.
Gender action plan and Gender assessment (2021) for download.
During the reporting year, Luxun and Ifria implemented a comprehensive Gender Action Plan that included specific commitments, targets, policies, and measures designed to align with the Subnational Climate Fund’s overarching Gender Action Plan. At Luxun, 32% of the workforce and 42% of senior management were women, reflecting the company’s commitment to gender equality. The Gender Action Plan implementation included project-level gender assessments, gender-sensitive safeguarding and stakeholder consultations, empowerment activities for women, capacity building for project teams, and monitoring and evaluation to ensure gender-responsive outcomes. These efforts aimed to improve formal employment and livelihoods for women and vulnerable populations, enhance economic participation and leadership opportunities for women, strengthen institutional and regulatory frameworks, reduce gender disparities, and ensure that all subnational projects adhere to the gender-responsive standards and outputs envisioned by the Fund.

The Fund, was legally established and operational in 2022, marked a strong start by completing its first closing with a USD 25 million disbursement, initiating its first investment in an ecotourism project in Grand Bahama, conducting global investor outreach at major events such as COP27, GIIN, Climate Week, and Monaco Ocean Week, and developing gender, social inclusion, and environmental safeguard tools to guide sustainable investments.
Establishment of GFCR Fund legal structure and first closing (completed in 2022). Pipeline of reef-positive investments developed (89 companies screened, 24 active discussions, 5 due diligence).First investment committed: Ecotourism lodge in Grand Bahama.Financing mobilized: USD 25m (2022), USD 10m private commitments (Feb 2023).

Total financing USD 500,000,000 for 17 countries covering Bahamas, Belize, Brazil, Colombia, Comoros, Ecuador, Fiji, Guatemala, Indonesia, Jamaica, Jordan, Mexico, Mozambique, Panama, Philippines, Seychelles, Sri Lanka.
Priority locations for the Fiji Portfolio are Viti-Levu (Greater Suva Area), Vanua Levu, Qoliqoli Cokovata and Qoliqoli Nadogo, Cuvu Tikina on the Coral Coast, Shark Reef Marine Reserve – SeruaBeqa Lagoon and Kuata Marine Protected Areas.
2022 was the first year of the GFCR’s existence. The FAA went effective on June 27, 2022 and the rst disbursement of $25 million was received. The fund was primarily focused on three areas: (i) fundraising, (ii) building a team and (iii) building a pipeline of potential investments. The fund also made its rst investment to begin development of an ecotourism lodge on the island of Grand Bahama in Q4 2022.

Deployment of reef restoration and sustainability technologies such as artificial reefs, coral farming, and waste management in target countries