Australia Supports the Coral Triangle Initiatives

Jakarta – The Coral Triangle Initiative on Coral Reefs, Fisheries and Food Security (CTI-CFF) received a commitment of $6 million from the Government of Australia.

The announcement was made at a high-level side event titled “Celebrating Achievements in the Coral Triangle”, which took place during the World Parks Congress in Sydney, Australia. The event was hosted by CTI-CFF partners and led by the Government of Australia on November 13, 2014, in collaboration with CTI member countries and the CTI-CFF Interim Regional Secretariat. This new funding builds on the $7.2 million that Australia has provided to the Coral Triangle Initiative since 2009. Hon. Greg Hunt, MP, Minister for the Environment of the Australian Government, stated that they are strongly focused on developing a platform for the sustainable financing of the CTI.

A short presentation delivered earlier by Dr. Andrew Chek, a representative from the Department of Environment of the Government of Australia, during the CTI-CFF 10th Senior Officials Meeting (SOM) on November 7, 2014, in Dili, Timor-Leste, detailed the proposed regional-scale investments. One of the main components of Australia’s support is Seascapes integrated management. This includes the potential appointment of a dedicated “Seascapes Coordinator” to work with the Seascapes Working Group, the permanent Regional Secretariat, and the spatially-explicit EAFM and MPA Working Groups, to support the integration of terrestrial inputs into marine ecosystems as part of the seascapes framework and guidance.

Another area targeted by Australia’s support is regional ecotourism. It is expected that the assistance will help explore, and if appropriate, establish the enabling framework for public and private sectors to collaborate in identifying, proposing, and strategizing the development of landscapes to be listed and promoted within a select grouping aimed at the global ecotourism market. Finally, the support will provide resources for interconnected small grants, microfinance initiatives, and fellowship programs at the community level.