S-E Asia biodiversity, leadership on ocean issues draw philanthropic interest in region's oceans

Straits Times

a day ago

OceanX's co-chief executive and chief science officer Vincent Pieribone at an event aboard the OceanXplorer in Nice, France, on June 12. PHOTO: OCEANX
NICE, France – The key role that Singapore played in brokering the High Seas Treaty made it fitting for an upcoming expedition involving Singapore researchers to be conducted in international waters, said founder and co-chief executive of non-profit OceanX Mark Dalio on June 13.
Singapore's Minister for Foreign Affairs Vivian Balakrishnan had announced during the UN Ocean Conference on June 10 that researchers from the National University of Singapore (NUS), in collaboration with OceanX, will in October embark on a deep sea biodiversity expedition to the high seas in the eastern Indian Ocean.
The high seas refer to areas outside any country's territorial waters. Singapore had in 2023 helped to broker an agreement on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity outside national jurisdictions.
The Republic had helped countries reach an agreement on a legal framework for the protection of biodiversity in the high seas after almost 20 years of negotiations.
The research team will conduct the expedition aboard OceanX's scientific vessel OceanXplorer at the Christmas Island Seamount Province.
Asked how the site was chosen, Mr Dalio told The Straits Times on the sidelines of the UN summit: 'We were advised by NUS about their interest in those waters, and we see great value in better understanding the seamount, especially the deep waters in that part of the world.'
OceanX – an ocean exploration initiative by Dalio Philanthropies – had in 2024 embarked on two other scientific expeditions in South-east Asia, in Malaysia and Indonesia.
The research agendas are shaped in collaboration with researchers from host countries, said Mr Dalio.
'We have a number of areas that we (OceanX) specialise in… studies that can help with fisheries, environmental DNA, biodiversity assessments,' he said.
'And we come to the universities and the groups that are doing work within each of the countries with what our capabilities best allow us to do, and complement the work that they excel in as well.
'And then we hone in on the locations they want to study further, based on the capabilities that we have,' he added.
He said Asia and South-east Asia have some of the world's most biodiverse waters, with so much to uncover and share with the world.
For example, the 2024 expedition to Malaysia had helped to uncover deep water reefs off Pahang. These ecosystems are located in darker depths of the ocean that are harder to detect than their shallow water cousins, which are often bathed in sunlight.
'The work in Asia has been a huge interest of ours,' Mr Dalio added.
OceanX's founder and co-chief executive Mark Dalio aboard its scientific vessel. He said Asia and South-east Asia have some of the world's most biodiverse waters.
PHOTO: OCEANX
On June 12, OceanX's co-chief executive and chief science officer Vincent Pieribone announced during an event aboard the OceanXplorer in Nice that the non-profit has received the Indonesian government's support for 'recurring OceanX expeditions and collaborative research, media and education projects in Indonesia'.
Mr Pieribone said Indonesia has aspirations to be a leader in ocean conservation in South-east Asia, and that the OceanXplorer has capabilities that can supplement and further the work of the local scientists.
For instance, the vessel is equipped with a helicopter pad that enabled an aerial survey of large marine animals during the last Indonesian expedition – obtaining records of blue whales and orcas in the area.
Growing philanthropic interest in South-east Asian seas
Dalio Philanthropies' OceanX initiative is part of a small but growing network of philanthropies taking an interest in marine issues in South-east Asia.
The Temasek Trust-backed Philanthropy Asia Alliance (PAA), for example, had in 2024 launched the Blue Oceans Community to connect funders and partners with an interest in ocean issues in Asia.
The PAA noted that ocean conservation receives less than 1 per cent of total philanthropic funding, despite the ocean covering over 70 per cent of the planet, and being vital for climate regulation, food security, and livelihoods.
'This disparity is even more pronounced in Asia, where philanthropy has traditionally focused on visible, urgent human needs,' PAA added.
The community, which started with three entities – Dalio Philanthropies, family business TPC (Tsao Pao Chee) and PAA – is now joined by philanthropic organisation Quantedge Advancement Initiative.
PAA said 'this reflects the growing recognition of Asia's critical role in global climate and biodiversity solutions – and a shared urgency to protect the millions of lives and livelihoods that depend on healthy marine ecosystems'.
The alliance said a number of gaps hindered progress for the region's oceans, including fragmented, small-scale efforts that are difficult to scale up, and a lack of meaningful engagement with local communities that can undermine conservation efforts.
For example, designating a marine park alone does not guarantee that biodiversity is protected unless enforcement efforts are also in place.
Inadequate policy frameworks or financing mechanisms also make it difficult for promising solutions to grow, PAA said.
PAA chief executive Shaun Seow, who was at the UN summit to connect with organisations in this area, said philanthropies can help bridge these gaps in a few ways. For example, philanthropies can help with capacity building efforts.
'Governments have to make sure that policies are enforced and the right regulation framework is put in place, and philanthropies can help make that work, because not a lot of people understand the oceans,' he said.
Philanthropic funding can also help to bring in other sources of finance.
Mr Seow said: 'Philanthropies can activate big pools of capital, like private capital, that is right now sitting and just waiting to see if the blue economy is an investable asset class.'
Blended finance is the concept of combining concessional funding, such as philanthropic grants or low-interest loans, with commercial investment to make such projects more attractive to the private sector.
On Dalio Philanthropies' growing involvement in the region, Mr Seow said: 'We really love how engaged Dalio is in South-east Asia... There's a lot more that they want to do in the education space, and there's a lot of signalling – Dalio's interest in South-east Asia can bring on other philanthropists into the region.'
He added that the alliance is working with Dalio Philanthropies on efforts to scale ocean conservation by working with governments in South-east Asia on implementing marine protected areas, but declined to give further details.
Mr Seow added that there are plans for a 'calendar of ocean events in Asia' – including an upcoming ocean summit in October in Singapore by OceanX, as well as a dedicated ocean segment at PAA's annual Philanthropy Asia Summit in 2026 – to convene and bring more partners to the table.
Audrey Tan is an assistant news editor overseeing sustainability coverage. She has reported on the environment for more than a decade and hosts the Green Pulse podcast series.
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