Washington DC, May 6, 2011 –On April 29, the Global Environment Facility (GEF) endorsed a $3.88 million grant to restore productive capacity of critical watersheds, enhance biodiversity conservation and protected area networks and reduce poverty of dependent communities in selected watersheds in the Philippines. It is being implemented by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and includes cofinancing of $103 million. This project is part of an ambitious GEF umbrella program - the Coral Triangle program, a regional initiative covering the six countries Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Solomon Islands and Timor-Leste. As the largest international grant donor to this initiative, the GEF already committed $63 million that lead to an additional cofinancing from development partners of more than $350 million.
This vast area – also called the “Nurseries of the Seas” - has the richest marine biodiversity, harbors 75 percent of all known coral species, more than half of the world’s reefs, 40 percent of the world's coral reef fish species, and six of the world’s seven species of marine turtle. The Coral Triangle is also critically important because it provides income and food security, particularly for coastal communities. It represents a way of life fostered across generations by a close dependence on the marine environment. The Triangle supports the largest tuna fishing industry in the world, which generates billions of dollar in global income each year and its reef ecosystems also buffer coastal communities from cyclones and tsunamis."This initiative brings together for the first time all the partners needed to mobilize action in the countries of Southeast Asia and the Pacific," says Monique Barbut, GEF CEO and Chairperson. "The sustainable management of these resources is crucial to ensure that an adequate supply of food exists to directly sustain 120 million people living along the coastlines."
This recently launched project envisions to have watershed resources in the upper river basins that are sustainably managed through the adoption of integrated natural resources management approaches to optimize economic and ecological benefits for national development, social equity, and enhanced quality of life especially for the poor local communities. These efforts will eventually result in: (i) the arrest of degradation, overexploitation and rehabilitation of target watersheds to enable them to produce on a sustainable basis water and other environmental goods and services; (ii) reduction of poverty of local and dependent communities; and (iii) conservation of globally significant biodiversity, reduction of land-based pollutants of marine and coastal waters, and protection of carbon stocks and reduction of overall greenhouse gas emissions from land use and land use changes.
About the CTI
CTI is centered on high-level political commitments and proactive implementation by governments of the Coral Triangle area, and supported by multilateral and bi-lateral agencies, non-governmental organizations, and private sector partners. The six countries have chosen to address, in partnership, the management, conservation and adaptation to climate change of the tuna fisheries and coral ecosystems in that region.
The initiative goes back to the CTI Summit, held in Manado in May 2009, where the six heads of states/governments signed the historical inter-state agreement CTI declaration adopting a 10-year plan of action to avert the growing threats to the region's coral reefs, fish, mangroves, vulnerable species and other vital marine and coastal living resources. In his speech Indonesian President Yudhoyono highlighted that the aim of the CTI was opening up a brighter future for the next generation in the region. He referred to the 1992 Rio Earth Summit where leaders failed to sign a treaty for the preservation of oceans which cover 72 percent of the earth. "That is why we are gathering here now to prevent the destruction of the reefs and safeguard them for the next generation," he said. He announced Indonesia's plan to designate 20 million hectares of marine protected areas across the archipelago by 2020, as well as the intention of the government, over the next 3 years, to double the current amount of funding from its national budget dedicated to specific programs and activities stipulated in the CTI Plan.
The planning of the GEF CTI program was led by the countries and it was accompanied by the Asian Development Bank, the coordinating agency, and four other GEF agencies: FAO, UNDP, UNEP and the World Bank. Two years later, all the funds have been allocated for the implementation of more than ten projects in the six participating countries.
See more here: http://www.cti-secretariat.net/