California’s coastal waters are home to an extraordinary diversity and abundance of animal and plant life that drive productive ecosystems and benefit Californians in many different ways. These coastal ecosystems support economic activities, including fishing, farming, industry, tourism and recreation. The growing intensity of these activities over the past decades, magnified by changes in physical and biological dynamics, has compromised the capacity of these coastal systems to produce the goods and resources that people value.
The goals of the California Coast subprogram are:
- To bring about ecosystem-based conservation of marine resources in California through more effective statewide policies and programs, and
- To serve as a springboard for similar efforts across the U.S. and along the west coast of North America.
By pursuing these goals, the Packard Foundation intends to spur restoration of California’s ocean ecosystems so that they once again support abundant and diverse populations of fish and other marine wildlife. Our strategies to achieve these goals are: create meaningful protection of ocean ecosystems, modernize governance and funding of ocean and coastal programs, and stimulate active public support.
Our grantmaking supports:
- Establishment, implementation, and monitoring of a statewide network of marine protected areas
- More effective use of limited government resources through better agency coordination
- Greater integration of science into decision-making
- Identification of new and innovative sources of funding for ocean conservation, and
- Creation of a statewide network of citizen organizations supporting ocean conservation.
The Foundation seeks out partners among conservation organizations, scientists, user groups, government agencies, businesses, and others. Such alliances are critical to ensuring that conservation outcomes are deep and lasting.
