Coral Triangle Day Photo Instagram Competition Winners Announced

The Coral Triangle Initiative for Coral Reefs, Fisheries and Food Security (CTI-CFF) Regional Secretariat and WWF are pleased to announce the winners of the 2018 Coral Triangle (CT) Day Photo Instagram Contest.

Winning first place is Simon Hilbourne (@s.hilbourne) from United Kingdom for his photo about him brushing his teeth using a bamboo-made toothbrush under the sea behind a manta ray in Maldives. He earns a 7-night accommodation at Kri Eco Resort and 3x a day diving experience in Raja Ampat, Indonesia.

Second place honors go to Katy Danca Galli (@kidancagalli) from Florida, USA for her photo of plastic litter in Bunaken Island, one of the top diving sites in Indonesia. Katy wins a 3-day diving experience at Mabul and Kapalai in Borneo and two-night accommodation courtesy of Scuba Junkie.

Rounding out the top three Instagram photos is from Lauren Danielle Quiros (@lolo_atp) from California, USA for her photo of plastic litter collected during a beach clean-up. She wins a Mares Avanti Tre ray mask, snorkel and fins set.

All the top three winners will also be receiving a Coral Triangle coffeetable book.

WWF in partnership with the CTI-CFF Regional Secretariat launched the Instagram contest last May 2018 to encourage Instagram users to show how they are helping cut out single-use plastics by tagging their photo or video with #plasticresistance and #coral triangle. The Instagram contest attracted a total of 447 entries and ran until June 22. The contest was also supported by Raja Ampat’s Papua Diving Resort, Scuba Junkie Borneo, Conservation International, Mission Blue, Matador Network, Connect4Climate, and Bye Bye Plastic Bags.

The Coral Triangle Day is an annual celebration held every 9th of June to recognize the importance of ocean conservation and raising awareness on protecting and conserving the Coral Triangle, which is the global center of marine biodiversity. This year, the CT Day celebration focused on increasing awareness on the impacts of plastic on marine environment and the destructive wastefulness of single use plastics such as straws, coffee cup lids, cotton buds and product packaging.

For more information about CT day, visit www.coraltriangleday.org

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About CTI-CFF

The Coral Triangle Initiative on Coral Reefs, Fisheries, and Food Security (CTI -CFF) is a multilateral partnership of six countries: Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Solomon Islands, and Timor-Leste (CT6). The CT6 countries work together to preserve marine and coastal resources, and focus on critical key issues such as food security, climate change, and marine biodiversity. The CTI-CFF was established formally during the Leaders’ Summit in 2009 with approval of the leaders from the CT6 countries. They adopted the CTI Regional Plan of Action (CTI RPOA) which is a strategic action plan with five goals: (1) designation of effectively managed seascapes; (2) application of an ecosystem approach to fisheries management; (3) establishment of a fully functional marine protected area system; (4) strengthening climate change adaption and resilience; and (5) improving the status of threatened marine species.

About Regional Secretariat

The Regional Secretariat (RS) of the CTI-CFF is mandated to promote regional cooperation, knowledge sharing, and learning facilities within the six member countries of the Coral Triangle. The RS coordinates and monitors the progress of the implementation of the Regional Plan of Action (RPOA) goals. The RS coordinates and supports official meetings and events linked to the CTI-CFF process, including cross-cutting services in support of monitoring and evaluation, financial coordination, information management and outreach. It also coordinates the implementation of CTI-CFF RPOA and provides support to, and coordination with, NCCs, including advising the CTI-CSO on emerging opportunities and priorities to reaching the goals and targets of the RPOA. The RS also acts as the channel of communication and information sharing and foster networking among the Parties, CTI Partners and other organizations and donors in the efforts to promote the objectives of the CTI-CFF. The Regional Secretariat is currently based in Manado, North Sulawesi, Indonesia.

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Media Contact:

• Janet Rosalie Anne H. Polita
• Communication & Information Manager CTI-CFF Regional Secretariat
• www.coraltriangleinitiative.org
• jpolita@cticff.org or regional.secretariat@cticff.org