The ocean covers almost 70% of the earth’s surface area or 139 million square miles; In line with that, a new effort announced last April aims to safeguard 5% of it in the next five years. Given that just roughly 3% of the world’s ocean is currently fully protected, both the aim and the timeline are ambitious. According to M. Sanjayan, CEO of Conservation International, one of the project’s leaders, the Blue Nature Alliance has a “quite great ambition.” “It’s perhaps the largest single conservation program in terms of magnitude and pace.” The Blue Nature Alliance has gathered $125 million to safeguard the ocean from these risks thanks to a collaboration between Conservation International and other environmental and social non-profits such as The Pew Charitable Trusts, the Global Environment Facility, Minderoo Foundation, and the Rob and Melani Walton Foundation. Antarctica, Fiji, Canada, Seychelles, Palau, the Western Indian Ocean, and Tristan da Cunha, a South Atlantic Ocean island, are the Alliance’s initial target areas. These areas, which span over 2.5 million square miles, account for more than a third of the overall target. The Alliance’s initial target areas include Antarctica, Fiji, Canada, Seychelles, Palau, the Western Indian Ocean, and Tristan da Cunha, a South Atlantic Ocean island. More than a third of the overall aim is made up of these places that cover 2.5 million square miles.