The Coral Triangle Initiative on Coral Reefs Fisheries and Food Security, formed by six countries to protect one of the most diverse marine area, is set to have a Permanent Regional Secretariat following the conclusion of its 4th CTI Ministerial Meeting in Putrajaya, Malaysia on November 26, 2012. At the meeting, Malaysia, Timor Leste and Solomon Islands signed the agreement that gives consensus to the setting up of the permanent secretariat in Manado, Indonesia. Indonesia was the first to sign the agreement in October last year.

On November 26, 2012, the CTI Council of Ministers approved the CTI-CFF Roadmap of Activities for 2013, paving the way for the implementation of 15 specific activities and events in the coming year, in addition to the ongoing work of the National Coordinating Committees (NCCs) to implement the NPOAs and the continuing efforts of the Secretariat.

The Roadmap includes the following activities:

For the first time since its launch three years ago, the CTI-CFF has approved an Interim Secretariat Operations Plan, drafted with the support of the US CTI Support Program. This milestone was achieved during the 4th CTI-CFF Ministerial Meeting held in Putrajaya, Malaysia, on November 26, 2012.

The CTI-CFF will commemorate the world's cradle of marine life  on June 9, 2013 through various awareness raising activities throughout the region.

The Coral Triangle Day is intended to be an open-sourced event where any individual, organization, or establishment can organize anything they want in relation to the Coral Triangle in particular, and ocean conservation in general.  Examples of events or activities on this day are: beach clean-ups; sustainable seafood dinners and exhibitions; bazaars; fashion shows; ocean film festivals; beach parties; and many more.

The CTI-CFFSeascapes Working Group has rescheduled its meeting to April 16-17, 2013 in Bali, Indonesia. This will be hosted by the Government of Republic of Indonesia as Chair of Seascape Working Group in coordination with the Government of Australia, the Conservation International and the CTI CFF Interim Regional Secretariat.

This two-day regional event is designed to accomplish the following objectives:

The 3rd CTI-CFF Regional Exchange on Climate Change Adaptation will be held in Dili, Timor-Leste to review and share the recent activities in the CT6 countries related to CCA practices. For more information, download the concept note or contact the CTI-CFF Interim Regional Secretariat Secretary for Coordination and External Affairs Dr. Hendra Siry at  hendrasiry@gmail.com

The CTI-CFF will hold its fourth Regional Exchange on Marine Protected Areas in the Solomon Islands on March 12-15, 2013.

The workshop's primary outputs include:

This meeting will be held in Bali, Indonesia to consolidate and align partners' support and facilitation for the CTI RPOA and NPOAs. For more information, download the draft agenda or contact Dr. Darmawan at darmawan@indo.net.id

The 3rd CTI-CFF Regional Business Forum and 1st Coral Triangle Business Council Meeting will be held in Bali, Indonesia to celebrate and share examples of successful public-private partnerships in the Coral Triangle countries, with business to government to NGO networking and to consider steps the CTI-CFF can take to forward the Blue Economy. For more information, visit the event website or contact Lia Pet-Soede at lpet@wwf.or.id

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 26 (Bernama) — The Fourth Ministerial Meeting (MM4) of the Coral Triangle Initiative on Coral Reefs, Fisheries and Food Security (CTI-CFF), held here from November 22–26, will deliver new and innovative ideas, tools, modalities, and recommendations to address key issues facing the region.

These include strategies on CTI sustainable financing and communications, criteria development for the admission of new partners, and the formulation of transitional and operational plans for the regional secretariat.