Global Mangrove Alliance at New York Climate Week 2025
The Global Mangrove Alliance (GMA) had a strong presence at New York Climate Week, showcasing the critical role of mangroves in climate action and building momentum ahead of COP30 in Belém.
The GMA, alongside the Mangrove Breakthrough, convened a flagship session that featured Secretary for Environment and Natural Resources of Mexico, Alicia Bárcena and a diverse group of global leaders.
This was a dynamic multi-stakeholder panel that brought together government leaders, financial institutions, private sector and local communities to share commitments and real-world examples of impact. This event showcased progress and momentum behind the Mangrove Breakthrough, building political, financial and technical action toward the COP30 milestone. It also marked the launch of the Regional Readiness Reports, offering clear regional pathways for scaling mangrove action and unlocking finance.
Speakers included Alicia Bárcena (Government of Mexico), Ignace Beguin (Mangrove Breakthrough), Irene Kingma (Wetlands International), Pilar Jacobo (WWF Mexico), Karen Sack (ORRAA), Tony Lent (C4C), Kate Schweigart (Rare), Michael Wear (Tidal Moon) and Jen Morris (TNC).
The GMA also participated in a high-level roundtable with governments, agencies, funds and the COP30 Presidency team to highlight the ecological and functional connections between mangroves and coral reefs.
Discussions emphasized the role of mangroves and corals in climate resilience. Coral reefs buffer waves and sustain biodiversity offshore, while mangroves stabilize coasts, store carbon and support fisheries. They also dove into the urgency of integrating these ecosystems into Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), with countries updating their commitments at COP30 in Brazil. A critical conversation surrounded mobilizing finance and proposing concrete actions to protect and conserve these ecosystems as pillars of food security, livelihoods and coastal protection.
Speakers included Ligia Noronha (UNEP), Marinez Scherer (COP30 Brazil Special Envoy for Oceans), Roger-Mark De Souza (Pew), representatives from the Global Fund for Coral Reefs, ICRI, the High-Level Champions, and the GMA.
The round table session hosted by the GMA and the Mangrove Breakthrough Hub on Philanthropy’s Role in Mobilizing the Mangrove Breakthrough was a strong success, drawing representatives from 15 donor organizations. Ignace Beguin and Pieter van Eijk presented an overview of the Breakthrough plans, with a deep dive into the large-scale propositions for transformative action developed by the GMA Chapters in Mexico, Guinea-Bissau and Indonesia. This was followed a dynamic discussion on aligning different funding and finance streams to achieve impact at scale. The thoughtful questions raised will help refine our messaging and open doors to further conversations.
