ADB’s CTI Southeast Asia Project Kicks off with Scoping Workshop

The Coastal and Marine Resources Management in the Coral Triangle: Southeast Asia (CTI Southeast Asia) project held its Project Scoping, Visioning, and Team Building (PSVT) Workshop at the Astoria Hotel in Manila, Philippines, on August 16, 2012. The activity was designed to help the consultant team, support staff, and associates understand the project’s objectives, strategies, and interventions.

The ADB CTI Southeast Asia Project aims to improve the management of coastal and marine resources in the Sulu-Sulawesi Marine Ecoregion (SSME) priority seascape within the Coral Triangle. This technical assistance supports the introduction of more effective management practices for coastal and marine resources—particularly those associated with coral reef ecosystems. The project seeks to build ecosystem resilience amid increasing threats from human-induced and climate change impacts, thereby maintaining ecosystem integrity and productivity and improving the socioeconomic status of coastal communities.

According to ADB Project Officer Mr. Pavit Ramachandran, the CTI Southeast Asia Project is one of the largest initiatives in the CTI program, with funding of US$15.22 million, including in-kind government contributions. “There is a lot of opportunity to show substantive work and provide input to the countries, particularly to the Senior Officials Meeting,” he said.

Overall, the technical assistance supports the governments of Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines in establishing an enabling environment for sustainable coastal and marine resource management. It also addresses key constraints to sustainable fisheries management and coastal economic development—such as illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing, overfishing, and natural habitat destruction—and ensures effective project implementation through a structured project management system.

Mr. Ramachandran also expressed confidence in the consultant team’s capacity to deliver results and challenged them to raise the bar in executing the technical assistance project. “Our partners from Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines have been anxiously waiting for this technical assistance to push through since it is expected to support the implementation of their National Plans of Action (NPOA),” he added.

He also shared that he was keen to engage the National Coordinating Committees to the fullest extent, starting with the inception workshops scheduled for the following month. The program will hold national inception workshops throughout September and October 2012 in Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines to validate country priorities and identify project sites.

Mr. Guillermo L. Morales serves as the Team Leader for CTI Southeast Asia. He previously led the Coral Reef Rehabilitation and Management Project (COREMAP) II in Indonesia for seven years.