Coral Triangle Day: Fostering a Sense of Community and Camaraderie in Sustaining the World’s Epicenter of Marine Biodiversity

Coral Triangle Day: Fostering a Sense of Community and Camaraderie in Sustaining the World’s Epicenter of Marine Biodiversity
By: Sudirman Saad, Chairman, CTI-CFF Interim Regional Secretariat

On June 9, 2013, an estimated 10,000 people from all walks of life gathered in more than 50 locations in Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Solomon Islands, and Timor-Leste to celebrate Coral Triangle Day.

Coral Triangle Day brings together individuals, organizations, and communities for beach clean-ups, sustainable seafood dinners, multi-media exhibitions, and other activities on one special day of the year to highlight the numerous ways to protect and conserve the world’s richest marine environment, the cradle of marine life on the planet—the Coral Triangle. Through these activities, a spirit of working together, a sense of camaraderie, and a shared understanding are fostered, emphasizing that conservation and sustainability goals can only be achieved collaboratively.

At the Coral Triangle Initiative on Coral Reefs, Fisheries, and Food Security (CTI-CFF) Interim Regional Secretariat, we are inspired to see this ground swell of enthusiasm celebrating Coral Triangle Day 2013. This encourages us to continue on the important, though challenging, path begun in 2009. The CTI-CFF has demonstrated that by collaborating at the regional, national, and community levels, and involving as many stakeholders as possible, we can make headway in protecting marine resources.

In November 2012, the Agreement on the CTI-CFF Permanent Regional Secretariat Establishment was signed by three Coral Triangle Countries, bringing us closer to strengthening regional activities and programs. In December 2012, local government leaders signed a declaration advocating stronger and more direct engagement with the CTI and expressed urgency and commitment to work with national and regional counterparts, as well as with each other, to protect and sustain the Coral Triangle.

This year, stronger linkages with the private sector were forged. In January 2013, government and private sector representatives developed a concrete roadmap to address the negative impacts of the live reef fish trade in the Coral Triangle. In March 2013, business and industry leaders from the seafood, tourism, shipping, manufacturing, and telecommunications sectors committed to implementing programs that will contribute to building a Blue Economy for the Coral Triangle region.

Working with development partners, scientists, communities, and policymakers, the CTI-CFF has developed innovative ways to help solve critical problems. The State of the Coral Triangle Reports were launched in July 2013 to map the conditions of marine resources. A guidebook was developed for local governments and communities to assess their vulnerability to climate change and form their own adaptation plans addressing local conditions. We are also close to launching the framework for the Coral Triangle Marine Protected Areas System, envisioned to be the largest network of effectively managed MPAs in the Asia-Pacific region.

As we move forward towards another year of collaboration, it is our hope that camaraderie will continue to grow and encourage more individuals, organizations, and communities to join in a multi-stakeholder, people-centered, and goal-oriented conservation approach, to stem the decline of marine resources in the Coral Triangle and sustain them for the millions who depend on it.

Happy Coral Triangle Day!