ICAI follow-up: Blue Planet Fund

Introduction

The Independent Commission for Aid Impact (ICAI) rapid review of the Blue Planet Fund was published in November 2023. It assessed the relevance, coherence and effectiveness of the £500 million fund, which was launched in 2021 to support low- and middle-income countries to reduce poverty and protect ocean biodiversity.

The review found that effectiveness of the Blue Planet Fund (BPF) had been hampered by weak coordination between the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), leading to duplicated work and delivery gaps. ICAI questioned whether programmes adequately contributed to poverty reduction and raised concerns about high overhead charges from Defra’s delivery partners. It also identified gaps in key management processes and engagement with developing countries. The report noted that the government had started to address some of the issues raised, for example by appointing regional coordinators and creating country plans.

Recommendations

The Blue Planet Fund review made four recommendations: 

Assessment of progress

ICAI has taken a tailored approach to following up on reviews from 2023-24. We wrote to Defra in June 2025 and requested a formal update on each of the recommendations for the review of the Blue Planet Fund, detailing progress since the publication of the government’s initial response. We have published the government’s 2025 progress update on our website. ICAI also requested accompanying evidence of progress, which we have reviewed. ICAI has seen clear evidence that Defra has acted across the breadth of our review recommendations and considers that progress has been made against each of the recommendations.

Defra has updated the Fund’s theory of change and introduced a comprehensive approach to monitoring, evaluation and learning, strengthening the Fund’s focus on poverty reduction.  We are satisfied that actions, which include changes to investment criteria, mean that poverty is now central to the majority of programming. We also noted that steps have been taken to mainstream gender equality, disability and social inclusion. These actions are an important foundation to ensure that the Blue Planet Fund’s impact on poverty reduction is fully realised in future, and that the Fund contributes to strengthening evidence on the relationship between marine biodiversity and poverty reduction in different contexts.

ICAI saw good evidence of action to improve coordination between Defra and FCDO, and to strengthen the BPF’s central management functions. We noted that allocation of official development assistance (ODA) has been reprofiled to focus on programmes which deliver the best impact and value for money. Defra provided us with evidence of their review of the overhead costs for arm’s length body expertise, which they have accepted as commercially proportionate, along with evidence demonstrating that overall spend on programmes using this expertise has been reduced.

Our review of the evidence provided also confirmed that cross-government oversight of the fund has been strengthened, through the management board and country-level plans. There are clearer channels for national government and other stakeholder input to shape programmes. ICAI reviewed evidence supporting Defra’s assessment that BPF country plans have improved national visibility and understanding of the Fund, with three out of four plans developed so far being endorsed by country governments. Technical working groups with representatives from the UK and host governments are being used to ensure programme alignment with national priorities and delivery of country plans.