Marine conservation success in Africa could serve as model worldwide. Our Ocean Conference in Kenya offers chance to showcase results of strong partnerships Article June 8, 2026 2 min Nothing about ocean conservation is easy. Every step - from idea to commitment to protected area financing, design, implementation and enforcement - requires persistence, coordination and collaboration. So when most of the world's governments committed in 2022 to protect at least 30% of the global ocean by 2030, they were rightly lauded for their high ambition. Now, four years later, the focus is shifting to delivering on that commitment: Are new marine protections in place, effectively managed and sufficiently financed? And is this conservation being led - as it should be - by the local communities most affected by these decisions? Some encouraging answers to these questions are emerging from Africa, which for the first time will host the annual Our Ocean Conference, 16-18 June in Mombasa, Kenya. For example, the government of Seychelles, an archipelago of 115 islands, has already protected more than 30% of its waters. The country achieved this in part through a 2015 debt conversion - the first sovereign one designed solely for marine protection - and an equally innovative bond issuance, also dedicated to ocean protection. Today, the Seychelles Conservation and Climate Adaptation Trust is working with the government and partners - including The Pew Charitable Trusts and the Blue Nature Alliance, a collaboration led by Pew, Conservation International, the Global Environment Facility, Minderoo Foundation and the Rob Walton Foundations - to stand up governance bodies, complete management plans and build surveillance and monitoring capacity. Such follow-through is a model for moving from pioneering financing to effective, community-led ocean protection that also supports working fisheries and local cultures. In the Gulf of Guinea, Gabon and the Republic of Congo co-created a transboundary marine park along one of the most biodiverse stretches of African coastline. Supported by the Wildlife Conservation Society, the Blue Nature Alliance, and national partners, the governments are working to strengthen management of the park and establish ocean conservation areas. The area is home to the largest leatherback turtle nesting grounds on the continent and more than 70 species of sharks and rays. The Wildlife Conservation Society, an international nonprofit, has worked in this region for three decades, building the deep trust needed to collaborate effectively with the Gabon and Republic of Congo governments. And along islands of the Western Indian Ocean and the east coast of Africa, where roughly 60 million people live within 100 kilometres (60 miles) of the shore, the Blue Nature Alliance - working with the Western Indian Ocean Marine Science Association, a regional ocean-focused nonprofit organization, and a range of local partners - is supporting community-led management of nearly 190,000 square kilometres of ocean, which includes existing marine protected areas. Part of this work involves mapping seagrass meadows, along with training and exchanges of experts and staff. This region is also recognizing the value of coastal habitats, and the importance of having the data and capacity to protect them. Worldwide, seagrass meadows, mangroves and salt marshes are the only coastal ecosystems that the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change recognizes for measurable carbon storage. They also buffer storms, hold shorelines in place and provide nursery, habitat and feeding grounds for 20% of the world's largest fisheries. Comprehensive mapping data has already helped the Seychelles government to protect its seagrass meadows. That in turn has inspired a region-wide project, called the Large-Scale Seagrass Mapping and Management Initiative, to produce standardized seagrass maps and carbon assessment in each country, and to expand capacity in seagrass science broadly. Pew is working on that project with the Western Indian Ocean Marine Science Association, the University of Southampton and national research institutions across Kenya, Madagascar, Mozambique and Tanzania (including Zanzibar). These examples help illustrate the elements of successful conservation: national governments working with local groups, scientific experts, international organizations and regional bodies on protections that help people and nature. With 2030 on the horizon, the next four years will determine whether governments around the world can follow the models that are yielding results and meet their own ambitious commitments. The Our Ocean Conference in Mombasa offers a chance for world leaders to learn from each other about what's working, and to redouble their focus on turning a vision for a better future into reality. Tom Dillon is a senior vice president with The Pew Charitable Trusts, leading the organization's work on conservation and environment initiatives around the world. Receive our best conservation research bi-weekly - stunning photos, wins, and action alerts. Media contact. Felisa Klubes Director, Communications

Regional leaders unite around growth strategy for Southeastern Pennsylvania. Five counties commit to shared plan for growing jobs and opportunity across innovative industries Article May 13, 2026 2 min Leaders in Southeastern Pennsylvania have united around a plan to spark economic advancement in the region, with a priority on inclusive job growth. The plan, detailed in "From Potential to Prosperity: A Strategic Agenda for Growth and Opportunity in Southeastern Pennsylvania," a report recently published by the Brookings Institution, is a product of more than two years of cooperation between The Pew Charitable Trusts, Brookings, and key stakeholders in government, philanthropy, and the private sector. The plan outlines efforts to integrate economic and workforce development in Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, and Philadelphia counties and represents a turning point in how the five counties work together. The Greater Philadelphia Growth Partnership, a group of business, civic, and government leaders seeking to strengthen the region's economic development capacity, will work to implement the report's findings. With a goal of driving coordinated economic growth throughout the region and expanding opportunity at scale, the partnership aims to align initial efforts in three high-potential industries: enterprise digital solutions, precision manufacturing in industrial technologies, and biomedical engineering and production. Brookings identified those "opportunity industries" in a market assessment released in July 2025, which included input from more than 90 stakeholders - business leaders, educators, investors, industry experts, and civic representatives - who gathered in roundtables, interviews, working meetings, and other convenings with Pew's support. Detailed economic performance data showed that the three sectors offer a high concentration of good jobs, which Brookings defined as positions that provide family-sustaining wages, benefits, and advancement pathways that enable self-sufficiency, particularly for workers without four-year degrees. Research and engagement in peer regions informed the Greater Philadelphia Growth Partnership model, which combines what Brookings describes as "business-led governance and investment, dedicated execution capacity, transparency among economic development partners, and accountability through shared performance indicators." These elements are essential for the partnership's success and mirror regional economy-building efforts in other major metropolitan areas. The report also features plans to bolster the competitiveness of Southeastern Pennsylvania. In recent decades, cluster building, a term that describes efforts to cultivate regional industries by leveraging the interconnectedness and proximity of related companies, has emerged as a prime way of creating and sustaining high-value markets across the United States. Brookings has identified five main categories of interventions that help regions to strengthen industry clusters: information and networks, talent development, research and commercialization, infrastructure and placemaking, and capital access. Brookings found that the three Southeastern Pennsylvania opportunity industries stand to benefit from such cross-cutting interventions. Greater networks, for example, would help regional businesses to pursue common interests and address sector-specific challenges. Talent needs also are a priority for all three industries. Each industry has a range of workforce training and development needs, such as entry-level training or skill advancement for current workers. The report also outlines needs and tactics that are unique to each opportunity industry. Highlights include: * Enterprise digital solutions: Innovation and entrepreneurship are critical areas to expand. Tactics include creating incubators and accelerators for new and emerging firms, leveraging corporate partnerships to help existing firms to tackle more complex problems, and building a more cohesive identity for this subset of technology to signal the strength of its regional presence. * Precision manufacturing: Capacity-building for small and midsize firms, many of which are family-owned, is a high priority. Tactics focus on building support for firms that might struggle to adopt new technologies or need help in developing succession plans. * Biomedical engineering and production: Access to capital for early-stage firms supports business retention. Tactics aim to create "resident capital," meaning regional private and public funding pools or networks to support seed companies and keep them in the region. The success of the Greater Philadelphia Growth Partnership requires sustained private sector leadership, along with ongoing investment from the public and philanthropic sectors, to help interrupt economic stagnation in the region and drive economic growth and mobility. Recent research from Opportunity Insights, a team of scholars and policy analysts based at Harvard University, found that the Philadelphia metro region ranks last among the 50 largest U.S. regions in upward mobility for low-income residents. Pew is committed to fostering the economic conditions required to produce more good jobs and support economic advancement in the region. With the Brookings report in hand, leaders have a playbook to pursue those goals, and the emerging partnership provides the structure to ensure commitment, accountability, and results. Amanda Colón-Smith is an officer and Catie Wolfgang is a senior officer with The Pew Charitable Trusts' Philadelphia research and policy initiative. People. Media contact. Jolene Nieves Byzon RELATED RESOURCES

Congress should strengthen public safety and resilience programs in transportation bill. Typically, every five years the U.S. Congress passes sweeping legislation that updates how the federal government invests in surface transportation infrastructure such as roads, bridges, rail, transit, bike lanes, sidewalks, and more. The current law, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), is set to expire Sept. 30, 2026. As Congress develops legislation that will determine which surface transportation programs are reauthorized and funded, The Pew Charitable Trusts is encouraging lawmakers to maintain and strengthen three programs that create jobs and help local economies thrive while making America's infrastructure safer, more resilient to disasters, and better connected for people and wildlife. Those programs are the Wildlife Crossings Pilot Program (WCPP); the Promoting Resilient Operations for Transformative, Efficient, and Cost-Saving Transportation (PROTECT) Program; and the National Culvert Removal, Replacement, and Restoration Grant (Culvert AOP) Program. Further, to help federal and state officials, communities, Tribes, and the public assess the scope and scale of the IIJA, Pew partnered with ICF, a technology and data analysis firm, to develop an interactive dashboard that provides information - such as location, congressional district, and grant amount - for each project funded by the IIJA under these three programs, as well as other projects involving resilience and connectivity. Here's why each of these programs is important. Wildlife Crossings Pilot Program. According to the Federal Highway Administration, wildlife-vehicle collisions cost Americans more than $10 billion annually. In 2024, State Farm reported nearly 2 million insurance claims due to animal-related crashes, causing approximately 200 human fatalities and 26,000 injuries. The WCPP provides states, localities, Tribes, and others with resources to reduce these incidents, including by granting funds to build wildlife overpasses and underpasses - which, when combined with added fencing, have been shown to reduce crashes by up to 90%. Pew is urging Congress to make the program permanent, raise funding to $200 million annually from the cumulative $350 million made available by the current transportation law, and eliminate cost-sharing requirements for Tribes. Doing this would establish reliable resources, address unmet demand, and ensure the federal government considers all worthy projects. Americans bear the brunt of impacts from disasters on the nation's transportation infrastructure. For example, in 2024, hurricane helene shut down thousands of roads throughout the southeast, leaving residents cut off from critical facilities and services such as hospitals and evacuation routes. The PROTECT Program helps communities proactively upgrade roads, bridges, and more to better withstand floods, fires, severe storms, and other disasters. Pew recommends maintaining the program at funding levels no less than the $8.7 billion provided by the current surface transportation law so that communities can better prepare for costly disasters. Pew also recommends reauthorizing and maintaining, at a minimum, current funding levels of $1 billion for the Culvert AOP Program, which provides local and state governments and Tribes with the resources necessary to improve outdated culverts that can worsen flooding and block fish migration. Upgrading these structures is not only more cost-effective than maintaining undersized culverts but has also been shown to improve motorist safety and enhance habitat for commercially important species, such as salmon, that are vital to local economies from coast to coast. To date, the program has awarded funding for nearly 170 projects nationwide. Addressing the nation's outdated and deteriorating infrastructure is essential to the livelihoods of all Americans. By prioritizing the WCPP, PROTECT, and Culvert AOP programs as part of the next surface transportation reauthorization bill, Congress can help ensure that states, communities, Tribes, and others strengthen the country's infrastructure in ways that enhance public safety, create jobs, and support local economies. Forbes Tompkins works on The Pew Charitable Trusts' U.S. conservation project. News, photos, and expert insights on conservation and climate protections in the U.S.