Dugongs may look like overweight dolphins but they are actually more closely related to elephants.

Like their terrestrial cousins, they are herbivores and they are vulnerable to extinction.

The Pacific is an important part of their range and it may be about to benefit from new funding from the Global Environment Facility.

Mike Donoghue, Threatened and Migratory Species Advisor, with the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Program told Jemima Garrett the funding could make a big difference.

Listen the interview on ABC Radio Australia's website here.