Managing Director and Founder
Francis Staub is a marine conservation and ocean governance expert with more than 30 years of experience working across science, policy and international cooperation. Founder of Blue Pangolin Consulting, he has played a long-standing strategic role in global coral reef conservation through advisory positions to governments and international initiatives, including International Coral Reef Initiative, and through authorship of flagship global assessments with the Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network. His work spans coral reefs, marine protected areas and sustainable finance, and more recently has focused on the governance and conservation of the High Seas, where he provides technical leadership supporting the early implementation of the High Seas Treaty.
Francis began his career working on coral reefs for the French Ministry of the Environment, followed by a position at the World Bank’s Environment Department in Washington, D.C., before becoming an independent consultant. Based in London since 2012, he founded Blue Pangolin Consulting, a consultancy dedicated to the conservation and sustainable use of marine, coastal, and terrestrial resources.
For the past 25 years, Francis has been involved with the International Coral Reef Initiative (ICRI), serving as a strategic advisor to most of the governments that have chaired the initiative, including the United States of America, France, Australia, Japan, and Monaco. He also advises the French Government’s Coral Reef Initiative (IFRECOR).
Francis serves on the advisory board of the Coral Triangle Conservation Fund, based in Indonesia. He is a co-editor of the latest GCRMN Status of Coral Reefs of the World report and, in recognition of his significant contributions to coral reef conservation, received the Coral Reef Conservation Award from the International Coral Reef Society in 2024. He is also a member of the Expert Assessment Group for the Green List (EAGL) for Mediterranean Marine Protected and Conserved Areas.
More recently, Francis has focused on the conservation and governance of the High Seas. He is currently acting as Technical Director for a project supporting the ratification and early implementation of the High Seas Treaty (Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction – BBNJ Agreement) by the Preparatory Committee and the Conference of the Parties. In addition, he has been appointed as a member of the Programme Committee for the 2027 Ocean Decade Conference to help play a key role in shaping its vision, themes, and impact.
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