The Women Leaders’ Forum (WLF) met last September 2019 in Bali Indonesia with NCC representatives and partners. The workshop was specifically designed to engage a cadre of coastal and marine management professionals who are eager and committed to furthering women’s leadership in coastal and marine resource management efforts.

The workshop supported the implementation of CTI-CFF Regional Plan of Action 2.0 and the UN Sustainable Development Goal #5 which is to achieve Gender Equality and empower women and girls and Goal #14 which is to protect life below water.

This workshop initiated the development of a customized leadership competency model for women leaders across the Coral Triangle Region and the development of a portfolio of skills and templates that women leaders can use for development and career promotional purposes.

The CTI-CFF WLF competency model and portfolio can be shared throughout CTI-CFF and it included: competency model and framework, individual competency definitions, list of skills and knowledge associated with each competency, a menu of on-the-job activities for the development of each competency, a sampling of educational resources that will support leadership development pertaining to each competency, and tips for integrating the competencies in each organization. 

This framework can then be used as a baseline for the expanded development of women’s leadership, women’s recruitment, recognition, and promotion processes within organizations and the establishment of standards to ensure equality and equity for women leaders within organizations and access to upward mobility. 

The training built on the success of the CTI-CFF Women Leaders Forum to build the capacity of 200 women leaders across the Coral Triangle and empower them to have a stronger voice in marine and fisheries decision-making in their countries. The training aims to amplify the impact of women leaders to influence their organizations and build the capacity of more women to take on leadership roles in marine and coastal management in the region.

The Women Leaders’ Forum (WLF) met last June 27, 2019 in Dili Timor-Leste with NCC representatives and partners to discuss ways to synergize existing and future work in the region. The meeting also gathered inputs from the participants to be included into the draft gender policies/regulations matrix especially on the gaps and challenges, how women participation is included in planning and implementation process, gender equality integration. Further, the information will feed into the RPOA 2.0 process.

Resource persons during the meeting were Dr. Sharifah Nora Ibrahim of CTI-CFF Regional Secretariat; Dr. Arlene Satapornvanit of USAID Oceans; Ms. Jasmin Mohd Saad of USAID Oceabs representing Ms. Agnetha Karamui, WLF Chair from Solomon Islands; Ms. Agustinha Duarte of WorldFish Timor Leste; Ms. Lusitania Lopes of Women Maritime in Asia (WIMA); Ms. Kulthida Techasarin of US Department of Interior; Ms. Esmeralda Dos Santos of Timor Leste NCC; and Ms. Bernadete da Fonseca of FAO Timor Leste.

Malaysia and Papua New Guinea also shared their Gender/Women Initiatives.

The WLF meeting was supported by USAID Oceans and Fisheries Partnership and the US Department of Interior hosted by the NCC Timor-Leste and co-organized by the CTI-CFF Regional Secretariat.

For more updates please visit: https://www.coraltrianglecenter.org/

The Women Leaders’ Forum (WLF) met last September 2019 in Bali Indonesia with NCC representatives and partners. The workshop was specifically designed to engage a cadre of coastal and marine management professionals who are eager and committed to furthering women’s leadership in coastal and marine resource management efforts.

The workshop supported the implementation of CTI-CFF Regional Plan of Action 2.0 and the UN Sustainable Development Goal #5 which is to achieve Gender Equality and empower women and girls and Goal #14 which is to protect life below water.

This workshop initiated the development of a customized leadership competency model for women leaders across the Coral Triangle Region and the development of a portfolio of skills and templates that women leaders can use for development and career promotional purposes.

The CTI-CFF WLF competency model and portfolio can be shared throughout CTI-CFF and it included: competency model and framework, individual competency definitions, list of skills and knowledge associated with each competency, a menu of on-the-job activities for the development of each competency, a sampling of educational resources that will support leadership development pertaining to each competency, and tips for integrating the competencies in each organization. 

This framework can then be used as a baseline for the expanded development of women’s leadership, women’s recruitment, recognition, and promotion processes within organizations and the establishment of standards to ensure equality and equity for women leaders within organizations and access to upward mobility. 

The training built on the success of the CTI-CFF Women Leaders Forum to build the capacity of 200 women leaders across the Coral Triangle and empower them to have a stronger voice in marine and fisheries decision-making in their countries. The training aims to amplify the impact of women leaders to influence their organizations and build the capacity of more women to take on leadership roles in marine and coastal management in the region.

The Women Leaders’ Forum (WLF) met last September 2019 in Bali Indonesia with NCC representatives and partners. The workshop was specifically designed to engage a cadre of coastal and marine management professionals who are eager and committed to furthering women’s leadership in coastal and marine resource management efforts.

The workshop supported the implementation of CTI-CFF Regional Plan of Action 2.0 and the UN Sustainable Development Goal #5 which is to achieve Gender Equality and empower women and girls and Goal #14 which is to protect life below water.

This workshop initiated the development of a customized leadership competency model for women leaders across the Coral Triangle Region and the development of a portfolio of skills and templates that women leaders can use for development and career promotional purposes.

The CTI-CFF WLF competency model and portfolio can be shared throughout CTI-CFF and it included: competency model and framework, individual competency definitions, list of skills and knowledge associated with each competency, a menu of on-the-job activities for the development of each competency, a sampling of educational resources that will support leadership development pertaining to each competency, and tips for integrating the competencies in each organization. 

This framework can then be used as a baseline for the expanded development of women’s leadership, women’s recruitment, recognition, and promotion processes within organizations and the establishment of standards to ensure equality and equity for women leaders within organizations and access to upward mobility. 

The training built on the success of the CTI-CFF Women Leaders Forum to build the capacity of 200 women leaders across the Coral Triangle and empower them to have a stronger voice in marine and fisheries decision-making in their countries. The training aims to amplify the impact of women leaders to influence their organizations and build the capacity of more women to take on leadership roles in marine and coastal management in the region.

The first CTI-CFF Maritime Local Government Network International Conference was conducted on June 3, 2016, in Wakatobi, Indonesia. The conference, with selected theme “Toward an Effective and Self-reliant Maritime Local Government“, was served as the opening of the first General Assembly of CTI-CFF Maritime Local Government Network. It aimed to share (a). Ppactical experience among the LG in managing marine seascape, marine resources including community based conservation and sustainable fisheries for food security, (b). lessons learned from implementation of good maritime governance principles including local development planning that address those emerging issues on AEC 2016 and marine environmental challenges including climate change adaptation and mitigation and IUU (Illegal, Unreported, Unregulated) Fishing, (c). strategic approach and practical experience among the LG in engaging or implementing public private partnership. The conference produced a Wakatobi Declaration. At the first General Assembly of Local Government Network, the meeting agreed on several recommendations such as endorsement of restructured LGN Constitution; approval of membership interest of two (2) regencies from Indonesia namely Fak-Fak Regency and Gianyar Regency; the local governments in CTI-CFF Member States encouraged to join the CTI-CFF Maritime Local Government Network; adoption of Wakatobi Declaration as part of commitment in pursuing common and integrated activities under the CTI-CFF Maritime Local Government Network in achieving the RPOA.

The first Executive Committee Meeting of the Maritime Local Government Network was held on 27 August 2015 in Nusa Dusa, Bali, in the framework of Coral Triangle Regional Business Forum on Sustainable Marine Tourism. Attended by more than 50 Local Government leaders, the meeting resulted some points of decision such as the acknowledgment and recognition of instrumental role of local government in implementing the CTI-CFF goals, objectives, and programs; a circular will be distributed to facilitate and to expand the membership; the CTI-CFF Regional Secretariat confirmed its support to LGN and its development at both regional and national levels. The primary partners, especially WWF, TNC, CTC, USAID, and USDOI committed to continue their support and expressed their recognition of the LGN’s importance and key role; the draft CTI-CFF Maritime LGN statutes was shared and scheduled to be adopted in the upcoming CTI-CFF Maritime LGN General Assembly meeting that will be held in Wakatobi in March/April 2016; the meeting results to be reported in the 11th CTI-CFF Senior Officials Meeting in Manado in November 2015.

The 3rd Local Government Network meeting was held in Alotau, Milne Bay, Papua New Guinea, On March 25-27, 2015 which was attended by executive local governments from Indonesia, the Philippines, the Solomon Islands, and the Papua New Guinea representatives from the Regional Secretariat, Indonesia NCC secretariat and CTI CFF development partners. It resulted in the Alotau Resolution which provides for the elected interim officers which include Mayor Hugua of Wakatobi, Southeast Sulawesi. Indonesia as Chair and Mayor Gita Elliot of Allotau, Milne Bay Province, PNG and Mayor Nilo Villanueva of Mabini, Batangas, Philippines as Co-Chairs; the membership; and the engagement of women in CTI-CFF decision-making processes and programs and empowerment of women in their communities to lead and implement coastal and marine programs.

On December 3-6, 2012, the CTI Local Government Network (LGN) Forum and Executive Course was held in Manila, Philippines to advance the above commitments (the name change from “Mayors Roundtable” to “Local Government Network” was made to more broadly represent the different local government levels that can potentially participate in the Network). The forum was attended by 51 participants, including 25 local chief executives (LCEs) from Indonesia, PNG, the Philippines and Solomon Islands (Malaysia and Timor-Leste were not represented) and representatives from CTI-CFF development partners. It resulted in the adoption of The Manila Declaration which was signed by the 10 local government leaders who were present at the close of the forum on 6 December 2012 and one local government staff who initialed the document on behalf of their Mayor. This document contains the parties’ specific commitments on integrated coastal management (ICM), alliance building and the CTI RPOA.

On May 16-19, 2011, the Mayor of Wakatobi hosted a Mayors Roundtable that included 51 participants, including 30 delegates representing 13 sub-national governments or “local governments” (states, provinces, regencies, districts, cities, municipalities and their equivalent), four associations of local governments, and the NCCs of the CT6. Through a deliberative process that considered the concerns of all delegations, the delegates agreed on broad areas of regional cooperation, which provided the basis for a Joint Communiqué declaring their vision for cooperation, which reads: By 2016, we see ourselves as resourced, innovative, informed, and effective local governments collaborating, sharing information, experience and expertise, and advocating policies to achieve the goals of the Coral Triangle Initiative on Coral Reefs, Fisheries and Food Security.

The CTI-CFF WLF’s Women’s Intergenerational Leadership Learning Forum, which is being implemented by the Coral Triangle Center (CTC) and the US Department of the Interior-International Technical Assistance Program (USDOI-ITAP) with funding support from USAID RDMA, in collaboration with the CTI-CFF Regional Secretariat and the CTI-CFF National Coordinating Committees, aims to create a knowledge sharing platform between the senior marine conservation women leaders in the six Coral Triangle countries who will serve as mentors to a younger generation of early career women who show both potential and interest in developing leadership qualities.

The intent of the program is to build a cadre of next generation young women leaders from the Coral Triangle countries who are empowered to lead marine conservation programs in support of the CTI-CFF goals, and beyond. The program will include one regional interactive, participatory learning forum, a small grants program for a young professional led marine conservation project which will be implemented by a mentee and supervised by a mentor, and a final regional sharing workshop at the end of the program. Together, the two generations of marine conservation practitioners will work on the project, and ideally set the groundwork for the young professionals to establish themselves as the next generation of marine conservationists.

This program will be implemented over 12 months and is expected to cover one pair of mentor-mentee for each of the CT countries or a total of six (6) senior women mentors and six (6) women mentees. The mentor-mentees will be selected through this open call/submission of applications and will be selected from a pool of women leaders committed to the marine conservation and sustainability goals under the CTI-CFF Regional Plan of Action.

Each participant in the Collaborative Leadership Learning Forum will have the opportunity to work directly with a mentor on their collaborative leadership development track, as well as working side-by-side with a coach on their Conservation Challenge projects.

For more updates please visit: https://www.coraltrianglecenter.org/

On 19-20 July 2016, a WLF representative presented at the International Symposium on Capacity Building for Sustainable Oceans in Tokyo, Japan, hosed by the Nippon Foundation, the Government of Japan, and supported by TNC.

Ms Roziah Jalalid, Chairperson of the Omadal Women’s Association from Sabah, Malaysia represented WLF and shared how WLF allowed her to learn from other women working on sustainable marine and coastal management across Malaysia.

Ms. Roziah has been involved in community engagement, outreach and capacity building for marine conservation in Sabah, Malaysia since 2010. Roziah was first exposed to the CTI-CFF WLF in 2015, when a national level WLF event was held in Sabah, with support from WWF Malaysia.

Co-funded by Australian government and WWF's corporate partner John West Australia to improve livelihoods and food security of coastal fishing communities and small scale and artisanal fishers in Gizo, Western Province, Solomon Islands.

Innovative approaches to sustainable fisheries and fisheries management, linked to empowering women. Includes micro-finance and revolving loans for women to help develop small business opportunities for local fishing communities. Community-based fisheries work includes focus on women’s economic empowerment, recognizing this can help address some underlying socio-economic drivers of unsustainable practices. Micro-savings scheme has 738 savings club members who have saved over USD30,000; with 100 loans granted; and 70 new small businesses started.

The 1st capacity building workshop for the Malaysian Women Leader’s Forum (WLF) was held on the 13-15 October 2016 attended by 15 women leaders. The workshop covered: i) Effective Public Speaking & Presentation Skill, and ii) Non Finance to Non Finance People.

The group listed activities and plans for next year which will be discussed on Nov 7, 2016 with women leaders and CTI-CFF implementing agencies in Malaysia, and youth and community groups. The workshop was convened by WWF Malaysia and supported by the Malaysian Wildlife Conservation Foundation (MWCF). The participants were from Green Semporna, Kudat Turtle Conservation Society. Wanita Pulau Omadal, Padang Kemunting Turtle Friendly Village Community, Balambangan Community and WWF –Malaysia Community Education and Engagement team.

The US Department of Interior (DOI), with funding from USAID, worked with the Coral Triangle Center (CTC) to host women leaders from the six Coral Triangle countries to participate in a multi-faceted, peer exchange to the U.S. from April –May 2014.

The program involved state-of-the-art leadership training, professional development opportunities, field-based learning, and collaboration with other women leaders. Following the study tour, participants have helped organize and develop the roadmap of the CTI-CFF Women Leaders’ Forum.

Sixteen women leaders attended a training on marine protected area management on November 3-5, 2014 in Dili, Timor-Leste.

The training was specifically customized for women and used creative ways of knowledge sharing, focused on strengthening the capacity of women from government, community, and non-government organizations to take a more active role in preserving and sustaining Timor-Leste’s unique marine and coastal resources. The women also developed a national network that will help coordinate activities and raise the profile of women leaders involved in marine conservation and management.

The CTI-CFF Women Leaders Forum, in collaboration with USAID, US Department of Interior, CTI NCC Philippines, Conservation International and Coral Triangle Center, participated in the 3rd Forum on Women Leaders in Biodiversity Conservation held in Manila on July 21, 2015.

The event highlighted the accomplishments of the women leaders to serve as inspiration in promoting biodiversity conservation and environmental law enforcement.

The CTI-CFF Women Leaders Forum Earth Hour Awareness talk was held in Kudat, Sabah, Malaysia on March 28, 2015. Organized by WWF-Malaysia and supported by USAID, DOI and CTC, the talk had 40 participants and featured four women leaders from the proposed Tun Mustapha Park in Sabah, a globally significant priority conservation area in the Coral Triangle.

WLF in Malaysia hopes to serve as a dynamic peer-learning network that shares best practices in marine resource conservation as well as a platform to build the capacity of women as environmental custodians.

The CTI-CFF Women Leaders’ Forum Roundtable was held in Alotau, Milne Bay on March 24, 2015 where 25 women leaders from coastal communities in Papua New Guinea (PNG) committed to work together, share experiences, inspire each other, and find ways to strengthen their capacity in leading marine and coastal resource conservation projects during the first ever gathering of women engaged in marine conservation and sustainable fisheries. During the forum, the women elected focal points and a secretariat for the WLF in PNG. The PNG Conservation and Environment Protection Authority, The Nature Conservancy, USAID-USDOI-CTC organized the forum.

Environmental managers from the Solomon Islands gathered in Honiara on August 3, 2015 and agreed to form a network and develop a national work program that will foster closer collaboration among women, offer opportunities to share information, build capacity, and develop livelihood programs where women are supported and empowered to take a central role in environmental issues and actively support the marine conservation and sustainability goals of the Coral Triangle Initiative.

Four women leaders from Indonesia participated in roundtable discussion at the sidelines of 4th CTI-CFF Regional Business Forum in August 27, 2015 to inspire and engage women entrepreneurs to successfully catalyze sustainable and environment-friendly businesses that support and sustain marine resources across Indonesia.

By sharing lessons learned and highlighting best practices, the women leaders who each built their sustainable businesses that promote marine and coastal conservation aimed to inspire more women to pursue a similar path.

On 15-17 June 2016, the 2nd roundtable of the National PNG branch of the CTI-CFF Women Leaders’ Forum was held in Manus province, Papua New Guinea with the theme ‘Rights-Based Management is empowering women in food security, sustainable community fisheries and climate adaptation programs in rural communities of PNG’.

The event had 120 participants who came to reaffirm their commitment to, and leadership role in, the sustainable management of the coastal and marine resources of PNG. A survey conducted amongst participants showed that they saw the primary role of the WLF as being a forum for women, and to enable consultation amongst women leaders. They identified the top 3 issues PNG WLF should focus going forward as: Natural Resource Management; Social Development and Consultation and Cooperation.

The event was convened by The Nature Conservancy’s PNG program, supported by the German and Australian Government, in collaboration with the PNG National Government and the Manus Provincial Government. It involved other partners including the PNG Women in Business Foundation, the National Council of Women, the Provincial Council of Women, and the PEDF.

Co-funded by Australian government and WWF's corporate partner John West Australia to improve livelihoods and food security of coastal fishing communities in Madang Province, PNG. Innovative approaches to sustainable fisheries and fisheries management, linked to empowering women. Includes micro-finance and revolving loans for women to help develop small business opportunities for local fishing communities.

12 Community Based Organizations (CBOs) with 120 women registered with the People's Micro bank through the micro-finance programme. Worked to establish a process to assist new members open accounts with commercial banks and People’s Micro bank.

As part of the side events of the International Coral Reef Symposium in Honolulu, Hawaii CTC and the CTI-CFF Regional Secretariat presented the CTI-CFF Women Leaders Forum milestones at the East-West Center on June 24, 2016.

In September, TNC brought together WLF representatives from PNG and Solomon to a week-long learning exchange during the World Conservation Congress in Hawaii. The women worked on grassroots natural resource management, and the learning exchange provided an opportunity to share their experiences, knowledge and challenges with one another.

The WLF representatives had the chance to learn from local indigenous leaders in Hawaii about traditional resource management practices, as well as to share their stories with global participants attending the congress by hosting a ‘Knowledge Café’ session focused on women’s leadership in conservation. The WCC Women’s Learning exchange provided an important opportunity to showcase women-led initiatives like the WLF, and to connect these inspiring women leaders with others from across the region.

As part of the CTI-CFF Women Leaders Forum launch, six grassroots women leaders were honored and awarded a small grant of US$3,000 to carry out marine conservation and sustainability project in their communities. USAID, DOI, CTC supported and managed the grants for PNG, Solomon Islands, and Timor-Leste while the Asian Development Bank supported the grants for Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines.