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  • 31 May 2014

On May 15, the CTI-CFF Ministers agreed to adopt two regional resource management frameworks developed for the Coral Triangle for national policy making.

The Ministers, who met in Manado, Indonesia, for their 5th Ministerial Meeting (MM5), issued an 18-point Joint Ministerial Statement. Among other points, the statement includes an agreement to “apply the Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries Management (EAFM) Regional Framework and the Coral Triangle Marine Protected Area System (CTMPAS) Framework in our (respective) national policies.”

The MM5 coincided with other CTI-CFF events at the World Coral Reef Conference, including the 2nd CTI-CFF Special Senior Officials Meeting, which recommended the use of these frameworks.

The EAFM Regional Framework, developed through a consultative process involving members of the EAFM Technical Working Group representing the six Coral Triangle countries, supports the adoption and strengthening of laws, policies, and regulations. Its aim is to reverse the decline of fish stocks, maximize opportunities for fisheries stakeholders, and enable the Coral Triangle countries to fulfill their EAFM responsibilities under the FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries.

The EAFM Regional Framework has five objectives:

  1. By 2017, the six CTI-CFF countries should formally adopt EAFM into their national policies and/or legislation.
  2. By 2015, enhance the adaptation and resilience of fishers and coastal communities to the impacts of climate change and ocean acidification by implementing the EAFM Framework.
  3. By 2017, reduce illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing through greater collaboration, enforcement, and awareness.
  4. By 2017, establish a regional EAFM Human Capacity Development Program to effectively implement EAFM.
  5. By 2017, create a regional platform for collecting and sharing data and information relevant to EAFM.

The CTMPAS Framework and Action Plan provides a collaborative structure and agreed approaches for the Coral Triangle countries and Partners to address challenges in managing coastal and marine activities sustainably. Developed through five regional workshops and reviewed by the countries, the framework reflects consensus on ecological, governance, and social principles for national and smaller-scale marine protected area (MPA) networks. It includes a roadmap through 2020 and prescribes a process for facilitating regional collaboration among individual MPA sites and national programs.

The CTMPAS Framework was presented and endorsed at the 8th Senior Officials Meeting (SOM8) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in November 2012, while the EAFM Regional Framework was first presented at SOM8 and later endorsed by SOM9 in Manila, Philippines, in November 2013.

Both frameworks were developed by the CTI-CFF countries with assistance from the U.S. CTI Support Program.