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Village children playing on the sand of a Micronesia beach © Ami Vitale

“This is one of the most important conservation advances of all time.” — William Ginn, Chief Conservation Officer of The Nature Conservancy

“This is one of the most important conservation advances of all time.” — William Ginn, Chief Conservation Officer of The Nature Conservancy

The Nature Conservancy is joining with supporters and partners around the world to celebrate a suite of stunning achievements for conservation of the planet's greatest concentration of coral reefs — the Coral Triangle.

At a summit in Manado, Indonesia on Friday, May 15, 2009, six governments launched the Coral Triangle Initiative (CTI) — an agreement that will fundamentally transform resource use and protection across the region. Heads of government of all six countries that lie in the Coral Triangle — Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, the Philippines, Timor Leste and Malaysia — resoundingly adopted the CTI, setting in motion a Regional Plan of Action that contains unprecedented goals and commitments for MPAs, fisheries protection and climate change adaptation.

These and other governments, including the U.S., pledged nearly $17 million in new funding for conservation of resources that sustain more than 120 million people. Indonesia created an 8.5 million acre Marine Protected Area (MPA) — now the largest in the Coral Triangle.

Explore all the good news from the Coral Triangle Initiative Summit here.

Dive Deeper

Check out a post on the Conservancy's Cool Green Science blog on Conservation by Convention Center and get an insiders look on what is was like to attend the conference and on the unprecedented commitments.