CTI-CFF highlights importance of Coastal Communities’ Resilience and RPOA 2.0 at COBSEA Meetings

Bali, Indonesia, 19 June 2019 – At the Meeting of the Coordinating Body on the Seas of East Asia (COBSEA) Technical Working Group on Marine Litter, and at the COBSEA Intergovernmental Meeting in Bali Indonesia, CTI-CFF Regional Secretariat participated and emphasized the renewed relevance of the CTI-CFF Regional Plan of Action (RPOA 2.0) that would focus on the resilience of the ocean and coastal communities.

Dr. Sharifah Nora Ibrahim, CTI-CFF Deputy Executive Director for Program Services stated: “The UNEP COBSEA and CTI share common purpose in good ocean governance, including aiming for improvement of social and economic livelihoods of coastal communities in the Coral Triangle area. The CTI-CFF would focus on its core competencies and comparative advantage by aligning more strategically with, among others, the COBSEA”.

In the first meeting on the WG on Marine Litter, Dr. Sharifah Nora guided COBSEA WG on Marine Litter by informing that CTI focus on ocean’s resilience would be on coral reefs, mangrove forests, mudflats, seagrass beds, and endangered species. The RPOA 2.0 will address cross-cutting and emerging themes such as Marine Litter and plastics. Negative impacts of marine debris on threatened species such as sea turtles, cetaceans, dugongs, seabirds, etc would be addressed. 

 “CTI seeks to be one of the official regional COBSEA institutions and we look forward to co-operating with UN Environment Nairobi, UNEP Regional Office Bangkok and COBSEA Member States as well as ASEAN mechanisms and Development Partners on regional seas issues”, she added.

Issues such as Food Security and Sustainable livelihoods are basic to the coastal communities’ resilience and are high priorities in the RPOA 2.0. 

COBSEA WG meeting on Marine Litter and the COBSEA Intergovernmental Meeting were organized by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Coordinating Body of the Seas of East Asia (COBSEA) together with the Government of the Republic of Indonesia-The Ministry of Forestry and Environment and Forestry.

CTI-CFF Regional Secretariat was represented by Dr. Sharifah Nora and Mr. Asa Silalahi.

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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.

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