Sec. Cimatu commits to plan of action for Coral Triangle

Senior officials of the six countries surrounding the Coral Triangle region are set to review its plan of action to hasten the implementation of goals and objectives for the biodiversity-rich region.

The officials of the Coral Triangle Initiative on Coral Reefs, Fisheries and Food Security (CTI-CFF) are currently in the Philippines for a four-day meeting up to Thursday.

Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Secretary Roy Cimatu sits as chairman of the council of ministers.

“Every gathering of countries that prioritizes the protection of marine and coastal resources is a welcome opportunity to do our share to improve the lives of people who depend on these resources,” Cimatu said.

Aside from the Philippines, other CTI-CFF members are Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Timor-Leste. These Coral Triangle nations are collectively called CT6.

Organized in 2009, the CTI-CFF is a multilateral collaboration of the CT6 to protect the Coral Triangle Region and to address critical issues such as food security, livelihoods, climate change and marine biodiversity through a peoplecentered approach to conservation.

Cimatu described the meeting as very timely as the Coral Triangle faces threats of unsustainable fishing, pollution, rapid increase of human populations and loss of critical habitats from coastal land developments and conversions.

He noted that the rise in sea temperatures due to climate change has also negatively affected the region’s coral reef systems.

“The coral reef ecosystems of the Coral Triangle are among the most threatened in the world,” Cimatu pointed out.

“We are racing against time to save them to ensure food security for our people, especially in the face of climate change,” he added.

DENR Undersecretary for Policy, Planning and International Agreements Jonas Leones, who is the designated chair of the senior officials' meeting, said the body will also tackle updates on the respective National Plan of Action (NPOA) of each member country.

The five thematic goals are strengthening of management of seascapes; application of ecosystems approach to fisheries management; enhancing management of marine protected areas; building resilience to climate change; and, protecting threatened marine species.

Leones said the CT6 aims to achieve its goals by 2020.

“The CTI-CFF country report on the NPOA achievements, challenges and lessons learned will pave the way for the member countries to set our action plans toward this direction while addressing emerging challenges,” he said.

The Coral Triangle, considered as the “world’s epicenter of marine biodiversity,” covers 647 million hectares of land and sea within the territories of the six-member countries.