Major Steps Taken to Protect Coral Triangle

Region is critical to the livelihoods of more than 120 million people

NUSA DUA, BALI ? December 10, 2007 ? This week, the six governments of the Coral Triangle ? Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Solomon Islands, and Timor Leste ? agreed to establish a new international partnership to conserve coral reefs and the multitude of species and fisheries they support. In an unprecedented show of unity in an area spanning 5.7 million square kilometres, these countries agreed on a coordinated approach for protecting marine resources.

Covering only 2 percent of the world?s ocean, the Coral Triangle contains 76 percent of all known coral species. It is also brimming with an extraordinary variety of fish due to this high coral diversity. Over 120 million people directly depend on the bounty of these seas for their food and income. The value of fisheries, tourism and shoreline protection from coral reefs, mangroves and associated habitats is estimated at US$2.3 billion annually. This area also supports the largest tuna fisheries in the world, which generate billions of dollars in global income every year. Healthy reef systems also help buffer coastal communities from severe storms and tsunamis. Protection of reefs and mangroves in the Coral Triangle will be vital to help people in these countries adapt to increasing storm severity, an effect of climate change.

These precious marine resources are today threatened by climate change, overfishing, illegal fishing, unsustainable coastal development, and pollution. All these threats are leading to depleted fish stocks, large-scale loss of mangroves and degradation of coral reef systems.

The six governments of the Coral Triangle have responded to these threats by agreeing to develop a plan of action for implementing this new Initiative. Over the next year and beyond, these governments will work with external partners to implement strategies on marine protected areas, sustainable fisheries management, protection of threatened species, and climate change adaptation. A Coral Triangle Summit was also endorsed, where leaders of the six Coral Triangle governments can adopt a CTI Plan of Action.

The three largest conservation organizations in the world, The Nature Conservancy, WWF and Conservation International, welcomed the commitment of the Coral Triangle governments to come together to take action to protect the resources of this region, and pledged half a million U.S. dollars to support initial start-up activities for the Initiative.

?Our three conservation organisations have a special responsibility to contribute to this effort to protect one of the most important natural treasures on the globe,? said Stephanie Meeks, acting president and CEO of The Nature Conservancy. ?The immense beauty and richness of the Coral Triangle support the livelihoods of people living in this area and beyond. We must work together across every sector of society to tackle the immense challenges facing this area and safeguard the seas and coasts for future generations.?

While in Bali, the six governments also met with potential partners in this initiative, including tourism and fishing companies, other governments such as the United States and Australia, and the Global Environment Facility and Asian Development Bank, to discuss cooperative actions to protect the Coral Triangle. We commend these governments and organisations for their strong commitment to and support for the Coral Triangle Initiative.

?WWF, The Nature Conservancy and Conservation International stand united and ready to participate as full partners in this great effort by providing financial support for stakeholder consultations in the six countries, organising a CTI Donors Roundtable in 2008 to mobilize large-scale public and private funding needed, and initiating sustainable funding strategies for marine protected area networks across the Coral Triangle region,? said James Leape, Director General of WWF.

?If we are going to be serious about conservation of marine biodiversity and especially the diversity of critically important and extremely fragile coral reef systems, there is simply no place on Earth like the Coral Triangle where coral diversity exceeds that of the Caribbean for example by an order of magnitude,? said Russ Mittermeier, President of Conservation International. ?For this reason, our three organizations have decided to focus on this region at a level never before achieved in
marine conservation.?

The three organizations look forward to continuing to support the development of the Coral Triangle Initiative.

The Nature Conservancy is a leading conservation organization working around the world to protect ecologically important lands and waters for nature and people. To date, the Conservancy and its more than one million members have been responsible for the protection of more than 15 million acres in the United States and have helped preserve more than 102 million acres in Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia and the Pacific. Visit The Nature Conservancy on the Web at www.nature.org.