Coral Triangle Day Appeals More Attention and Real Action on the Real Threat: Plastic Pollution

Date:

20 May 2016

Uploaded By:

andie wibianto

- The Regional Secretariat of Coral Triangle Initiative on Coral Reefs, Fisheries, and Food Security (CTI-CFF) together with National Coordinating Committee (NCC) from its 6 member countries (Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, and Timor-Leste), development partners and neighbouring countries to celebrate the 5th Coral Triangle Day on June 9.

- This year theme “Save Coral Triangle – Stop Plastic Pollution” aims to highlight the real threat over gigantic plastic waste polluting the ocean that have caused critical condition to marine ecosystem life in the Coral Triangle region.

Jakarta, 20 May 2016 – The Regional Secretariat of CTI-CFF together with its 6 member countries represented by NCC, development partners, and neighbouring countries to celebrate the 5^th annual Coral Triangle Day/CT Day on June 9 with a theme “Save Coral Triangle – Stop Plastic Pollution”.

The theme aims at generating awareness and real action in addressing the growing number of plastic waste going into the ocean and endanger the marine ecosystem – from coral reefs, fishes, sea birds, endangered species, to food security in a large perspective.

Plastic pollution is becoming a major problem for coastal and marine life on the planet. It has been reported that roughly eight million tons of plastic waste is dumped into the ocean every year, according to a study released by the Ocean Conservancy and McKinsey Center for Business and Environment in 2015.

The report mentioned that five countries are responsible for up to 60 percent of plastic waste entering our ocean. In the Coral Triangle region, Indonesia and the Philippines are on the list, after China, Thailand, and Vietnam.

“Plastic pollution has become a real threat to marine ecosystem life, as it directly affects both the coral and marine species that live on it – in addition to that, the impact of plastic pollution could also disrupt food security for the people who are dependant on the marine resources as their main livelihood,” said Widi A. Pratikto Ph.D., Executive Director of CTI-CFF.

“We can take some real actions in fighting the plastic pollution which will ended to the ocean by pledging to help reduce marine debris and encourage others to do the same (NT3 Pledge: No Trash No Trail No Trace); Reduce our plastic and trash habit with reusable grocery bags, reusable containers and straws and buying products with less packaging while also joining clean-up activities near our premises,” added Widi.

Social Media Campaign – Instagram Contest #noplace4plastic

The Regional Secretariat of CTI-CFF, in partnership with the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and www.thecoraltriangle.com, will be putting the spotlight on the ever-growing problem of plastic pollution in celebration of Coral Triangle Day via a social media campaign called #noplace4plastic, which derived from the main theme “Save Coral Triangle – Stop Plastic Pollution”.

The Instagram contest is expected to encourage users to post a creative photo of plastic where it should not be - in any natural environment, whether land or sea - using the hashtag #noplace4plastic.

Through #noplace4plastic, CTI-CFF and its development partners aim to reach a multitude of people via social media and build important discussions around the needs to reduce plastic waste to protect critical coastal and marine environments, which are valuable to human wellbeing.

A number of sponsors have generously donated prizes to support this activity and entice more people to participate in this contest, including a luxury resort stay at Gaya Island Resort in Malaysia, a 5-day all-inclusive dive package with Scuba Junkie in Borneo, Cressi dive gear, BYO underwater guides, and Coral Triangle coffee table books.

To learn more about the #noplace4plastic Instagram contest and the other on-the-ground events happening in celebration of Coral Triangle Day, visit: www.coraltriangleday.org

About CT Day

CT Day officially endorsed at the 4^th CTI-CFF Ministerial Meeting in Putrajaya, Malaysia in November 2012 as a regional awareness platform to highlight the importance of marine conservation and to raise awareness on this global center of marine biodiversity.

CT Day is also an interpretation of World Oceans Day (celebrated every June 8) in the area of Coral Triangle. The CT Day brings together individuals, institutions, and establishments from different parts of the region to celebrate the beauty and uniqueness of this region and to promote the importance of oceans through activities that may includes but not limited to: beach clean ups, mangrove replanting activities, sustainable seafood shows and exhibitions, and educational and awareness-raising workshops for the youth, among many others.

CT Day is an open-sourced event, which means any organization or institution can celebrate the Coral Triangle Day in any part of the world, especially across the Coral Triangle region.

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Notes to the Editor:

§ The Coral Triangle—the nursery of the seas—is the world’s center of marine life, encompassing around 6 million sq. km of ocean across six countries in Asia-Pacific – Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, and Timor-Leste.

§ It is home to 76% of the world’s known coral species, 37% of the world’s coral reef fish species, and commercially valuable species such as tuna, whales, dolphins, rays, sharks, including 6 of the world’s 7 known species of marine turtles.

§ The Coral Triangle directly sustains the lives of more than 130 million people and contains key spawning and nursery grounds for tuna. Its reef and coastal systems also underpin a growing tourism sector.

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