Francis Staub

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 BBNJ Agreement.

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. For 18 months (2012/2013), he provided technical assistance to the World Heritage Marine Programme in Paris. Based in London since 2013, 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 was been involved with the International Coral Reef Initiative (ICRI), serving as a strategic advisor to most of the governments that chaired the initiative, including the United States of America, France, Australia, Japan, and Monaco. He continues to advise 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). He is a member of the IUCN WCPA, several working groups (BBNJ, sustainable financing) for IMPAC6, a member of the DOSI Deep Sea on BBNJ working group, and numerous High Seas Alliance working Groups (including ABMT/MPAs; BBNJ financing; and, IFBs and RFMOs). 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, and will serves as “Expert Advisor” for the Earthshot Prize 2026.

ICRI_Coral_reef_Breakthrough_Monaco_Ocean_Week_2024__LOW_(c)-JCJC6352 copy

Francis with HRH Prince Albert II of Monaco, and Dr Khaled Asfahani, ICRI co-chair

Marine Mammal Twinning Partner Group Photo

Francis' latest news

Publications

González-Rivero, M., Dallison,T., Wicquart, J., Brigdale, A., Logan, M., Fobert, E. K., Staub, F., and Planes, S. (eds.), 2026. Status of Coral Reefs of the World: 2025. Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network (GCRMN), International Coral Reef Initiative (ICRI). https://doi.org/10.59387/LFPR6347
Degemmis, A., Darling, E., Piednoir, M.-C., Brun, V., Claudet, J., Jupiter, S., Monfared, M. A. A., McLeod, E., Clarke, P., Dallison, T., James, R. S., Rylance, A., Staub, F., & Trudeau, N. (2025). Coral reef commitments are largely absent from national biodiversity and climate frameworks. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17653674
Wicquart J., Towle E. K., Dallison T., Staub F., and Planes S. (eds.), 2025. Status and Trends of Coral Reefs of the Pacific: 1980-2023. Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network (GCRMN) and International Coral Reef Initiative (ICRI). doi.org/10.59387/WIUJ2936
Schaffelke, B., Brigdale, A., Dallison, T., Koss, J., McField, M., Petit, A., Planes, S., Rocle, N., Staub, F., Towle, E., and Wicquart, J. (2025): The status and trends of coral reefs around the world – connecting science to conservation action, One Ocean Science Congress 2025, Nice, France, 3–6 Jun 2025, OOS2025-938, https://doi.org/10.5194/oos2025-938.
Dallison, T., Manuel, S., Haskell, B., Staub, F. (2025) ‘Effectively managing area-based management tools: A new toolkit for the conservation of Marine Mammals’, Marine Policy, 172, p. 106492. doi:10.1016/j.marpol.2024.106492.
Gaill, F., Brodie Rudolph, T., Lebleu, L., Allemand, D., Blasiak, R., Cheung, W.W.L., Claudet, J., Cavaleri Gerhardinger, L., Le Bris, N., Levin, L., Pörtner, H.O., Visbeck, M., Zivian, A., Bahurel, P., Bopp, L., Bowler, C., Chlous, F., Cury, P., Gascuel, D., Goyet, S., Hilmi, N., Ménard, F., Micheli, F., Mullineaux, L., Parmentier, R., Sicre, M.A., Speich, S., Thébaud, O., Thiele, T., Bowler, M., Charvis, P., Cuvelier, R., Houllier, F., Palazot, S., Staub, F., Poivre d’Arvor, O. (2022) An evolution towards scientific consensus for a sustainable ocean future. npj Ocean Sustain 1, 7. doi.org/10.1038/s44183-022-00007-1

More publications

Wicquart, J., Gudka, M., Obura, D., Logan, M., Staub, F., Souter, D. and Planes, S. (2022). A workflow to integrate ecological monitoring data from different sources. Ecological Informatics, 68, p.101543.
Hein MY, Staub F (2021) Mapping the Global Funding Landscape for Coral Reef Restoration. International Coral Reef Initiative. 23pp.
DeGemmis, A., Claar, D., Corcoran, E., Cooper, C., Cripps, S., Darling, E., Dallison, T., Grimsditch, G., Jupiter, S., Lieberman, S., Schindler-Murray, L., Staub, F. & Virdin, J. (2021). Opportunities for Coral Reefs at the Ocean-Climate Policy Nexus. The Wildlife Conservation Society, 16p.
Souter, D., Planes, S., Wicquart, J., Logan, M., Obura, D., Staub, F. (eds) (2021). Status of coral reefs of the world: 2020 report. Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network (GCRMN) and International Coral Reef Initiative (ICRI). DOI: 10.59387/WOTJ9184

Conferences & Events

The 25th Annual Large Marine Ecosystems Consultation Meeting (LME25), IW:LEARN (6 – 8 July 2026), Paris (France):
- Technical Dialogue on Governance and Implementation of Area-based Management Tools in Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction, 6 July 2026. Coordinator.
12^th Regional Marine and Coastal Forum (FOMACO), (27 – 30 April 2026), Nouakchott (Mauritania):
- Advancing ABMTs in West Africa: Knowledge Sharing and Action, 28 April. Speaker, Coordinator.
BBNJ Symposium 2026 (10 – 13 March 2026), Rio (Brazil):
- Workshop: Building the Clearing-House Mechanism for Knowledge and Technology Exchange, 13 March 2026. Coordinator.
The 17th Monaco Blue Initiative, Monaco:
- Break out session on the implementation challenges of the BBNJ Agreement on “Priority areas and science”. Co-moderator.
Meeting of the global restoration movement: Partnerships & synergies – Restoration Day (30 October 2024), CBD COP16, Cali (Colombia). Speaker.
Conserving, managing and restoring coral reefs (15 May 2024), Regional Ocean Summit, Jordan. Speaker.
Implementing the Coral Reef Breakthrough: Solutions #ForCoral (19 March 2024), Monaco Ocean Week, Monaco. Speaker.
The International Coral Reef Initiative (1 November 2023), Gulf and Caribbean Fisheries Institute 74, The Bahamas. Speaker.
Marine Mammals Twinning Partners Workshop (26 October 2023), Ocean Governance Project, Scituate (United States)
The Marine Mammals Twinning Partners Workshop 2022 (3 May 2022), Ocean Governance Project, Cambridge (UK). Speaker.
Training on Two Innovative Toolkits for MPA Managers to Assess MPA Marine Mammals Management and MPA Resilience-based Management (2 December 2021), MPA Forum, Monaco. Speaker.