Financial support for marine and ocean commons in India can be characterised along several axes including funding from different sources (e.g. domestic and international agencies, institutional and individual donors) to different sectors (e.g. conservation, fisheries, livelihoods, gender, public works), thematic allocations (e.g. biodiversity conservation, disaster relief, coastal governance) and multiple forms of interventions (e.g. delineation of PAs, community-based monitoring, livelihood interventions, carbon financing mechanisms) through a range of conventional and emerging mechanisms. Synthesizing results from multiple forms of enquiry, this paper summarises emerging trends related to coastal and marine systems in India. A critical finding is that despite the extensiveness of the country’s coastline and the emergence of a diverse range mechanisms in recent years, the quantum of support for ocean and marine themes including the commons is still dwarfed by the support received by terrestrial ecosystems and causes. Within coastal and marine ecosystems, the support received for different causes and thematic interventions also varies widely. Although funding allocations are greatest for projects targeting coastal livelihoods and well-being, emerging themes such as climate change and contributions to specific SDGs are increasingly being reported as priorities by donors across the board. This is likely to be reflected in future funding allocations and thematic priorities. Individual donors as well corporate CSR foundations with an increased focus on nature-based solutions and climate funding are also a new feature of Indian philanthropy. Reflecting international trends, a great deal of funding support for coastal and marine systems also focuses on or encourages the establishment of marine protected areas (MPAs) and provides implicit support for neoliberal climate financing mechanisms including carbon credits related to blue carbon. MPAs, especially those under strict protection, are problematic propositions in countries such as India where small-scale fishery-dependent communities lose access to ocean and coastal commons and bear the brunt of exclusionary conservation in a variety of ways. Similarly, inadequately conceptualised market-based mechanisms such as carbon financing that is misaligned with ‘blue-justice’ can result in potentially perverse outcomes that may be detrimental to the future of coastal and ocean commons. Improving donor awareness and accountability regarding perverse outcomes and unintended consequences are also critical requirements.
