15th Senior Officials Meeting of Coral Triangle Initiative puts spotlight on Regional Plan of Action Version 2.0

Date:

08 November 2019

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Press Release

15^th Senior Officials Meeting of Coral Triangle Initiative puts spotlight on Regional Plan of Action Version 2.0

8^th November 2019, Honiara, Solomon Islands – The environment, fisheries and marine senior officials of the Coral Triangle (CT) member countries – Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Solomon Islands and Timor-Leste gathered together in the 15^th Senior Officials Meeting in Honiara, Solomon Islands last 7^th-8^th November 2019. One of the significant items discussed is the draft redesigned Coral Triangle Initiative on Coral Reefs, Fisheries and Food Security (CTI-CFF) Regional Plan of Action (RPOA) version 2.0 which sets goals for 2025 and 2030.

The CTI-CFF has developed the first RPOA that covers from 2009-2020. The first RPOA has five goals namely (1) priority seascapes designated and effectively managed; (2) Ecosystem Approach Fisheries Management (EAFM) and other marine resources fully applied; (3) Marine Protected Areas (MPA) established and effectively managed; (4) Climate Change Adaptation (CCA) measures achieved; and (5) Threatened Species status improving.

The RPOA sets the foundation for the CTI CFF’s long-term vision and goals to protect the socio-economic and environmental assets of the CT region, which is the global epicentre of marine life, abundance and biodiversity.

In the draft RPOA 2.0, the CTI CFF envisions that coastal communities and coastal marine ecosystems are able to cope with impacts of climate change in the CT region by 2025. The CTI further envisions for these communities and ecosystems to be resilient/able to adapt to impacts of climate change as manifested in the improvement of food security, sustainable fisheries and coastal livelihood by 2030.

Outgoing Interim Executive Director of the CTI-CFF Regional Secretariat Dr. Hendra Yusran Siry said that the CTI-CFF shall build on its successes from the past 10 years and will continue to collaborate with its strategic partners and other stakeholders to ensure protection and conservation of marine and coastal ecosystem resources in the CT region. Economic, policy and legal reforms shall be undertaken to integrate marine conservation and management into sustainable development, he added.

The draft RPOA 2.0 proposes to focus into two Flagship programs namely, the CT Marine Protected Areas System (CTMPAS) and sustainable Coastal Fisheries and Poverty Reduction Initiative (COASTFISH) designed to apply an Ecosystem Approach on Fisheries Management (EAFM). The CTMPAS visualizes a system of “networks” of MPAs that are connected, resilient and sustainably financed.

The need for RPOA 2.0 is a result of a completed review by independent experts on the effectiveness of the 10-Year RPOA with regard to fit of the plan, focus, responsiveness and implementation arrangements around it.

The meeting also gathered CTI’s strategic partners and collaborators namely, USAID, World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), The Nature Conservancy (TNC), Coral Triangle Center (CTC), German Corporation for International Cooperation (GIZ), and Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) to discuss implementation of national and regional programs in each country as well as plans for the next five and 10 years.

Further, in said meeting, the CT6 Member Countries welcomed the new Executive Director of the CTI-CFF Regional Secretariat Dr. Mohd Kushairi bin Mohd Rajuddin of Malaysia, former professor at UNISEL, a private university at Selangor State of Malaysia who has 35 years professional experience on the government, university and consultation works.

The senior officials also welcomed the new Deputy Executive Director for Corporate Services of the Regional Secretariat, Mr. Gustaf Adolf Lumiu of Indonesia who worked as Consultant for UNDP and ASEAN Secretariat and other multilateral funding institutions.

The annual senior officials meeting was set-up as a formal mechanism to consolidate and strengthen relations of the CT6 member countries, assess country accomplishments with respect to the RPOA, review projects and activities on continuing and areas of cooperation and collaboration. The Committee of Senior Officials (CSOs) oversees and decides on the technical decisions of the CTI as well as provide directions to the CTI Regional Secretariat.

The meeting was hosted by the Government of Solomon Islands and supported by TNC, WWF, CTC and the Pacific Regional Oceanscape Project under Ministry of Fisheries.

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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 sustain extraordinary marine and coastal resources by addressing crucial 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 adaptation 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 based in Manado, North Sulawesi, Indonesia.