23 April 2010
Coral Triangle Initiative
Reducing climate change impact in Southeast Asia
By Amanda Spake
Amanda Spake is a Washington, D.C.-based writer whose articles on health, science, education, and the environment have appeared in U.S. News and World Report, The Nation, and The Washington Post, among other publications.
The Coral Triangle, located along the equator at the confluence of the Western Pacific and Indian Oceans, is home to the most diverse marine communities on earth. The number and biodiversity of the ecosystems found in its nearly 6 million square kilometers of ocean and coastal waters are unparalleled. Today, this unique resource is threatened by human and environmental impacts, including global climate change. In response, the six nations of the Coral Triangle — Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, the Solomon Islands, and Timor-Leste — recently joined in a partnership, the Coral Triangle Initiative (CTI), pledging to protect the area’s resources for future generations. Their partnership attracted the support of additional donor nations and of environmental and other non-state institutions. Today, CTI initiatives help to protect particularly critical areas and to improve the Triangle’s resiliency against the effects of climate-induced ocean acidification.
The Problem
The Coral Triangle comprises just 1.5 percent of the earth’s oceans, but nearly one-third of its coral reefs, including 76 percent of the reef-building coral species, and more than 2,200 species of fish, are found here. It also hosts the world’s most extensive mangrove forests and seagrass beds, which provide food, shelter, and breeding areas for a vast number of fish, including much of the world’s multi-billion dollar tuna fishery. More than 120 million people in coastal communities are directly dependent on the Coral Triangle’s marine wealth for their food, shelter, and incomes.
Climate change already affects the Coral Triangle. A 2009 World Wildlife Fund report showed that 40 percent of coral reefs and mangrove forests have been lost over the last four decades. Some damage is due to toxic runoff from coastal economic and agricultural development, and destructive fishing practices. “But climate change is increasing ocean temperatures, leading to some coral bleaching, coral mortality, and increasing ocean acidification,” says Richard Leck, Climate Change Strategy Leader for the World Wildlife Fund. As the ocean temperature and acidity increase, corals can’t rebuild their skeletons, and the reefs collapse. The process has begun in the Coral Triangle, Australia, the Caribbean, and elsewhere.
“One of the most dramatic recent impacts of climate change,” Leck adds, “is the increase in severity and frequency of storms, such as the recent typhoon activity in the Philippines. These storms destroy coastal ecosystems and human life.” Climate change could devastate millions of people in the region, who depend on these ecosystems for their survival.
The Partnership Response
The CTI illustrates how a multi-layered partnership can begin with one leader’s vision and expand to include both nations and non-profit organizations. The CTI was first proposed in 2007 by Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono as a way to generate significant ecological and economic benefits in the region and globally. In May 2009, they formally launched the initiative, soliciting the broadest possible partnership. Its Plan of Action states that “multiple stakeholder groups should be actively engaged in the CTI,” among them:
• local governments,
• non-governmental organizations,
• businesses,
• academia,
• donor agencies,
• and — most critically — the communities affected.
While CTI is a new initiative, its partnership strategy already has secured more than $400 million in funding and valuable expertise from its member governments, from partner nations including Australia, France, Germany, the United States, and from international organizations including the World Wildlife Fund, Conservation International, the Nature Conservancy, and a number of international banks.
By focusing on sustainable economic development, food security, and marine resource conservation, the CTI aims to help fragile ecosystems adapt, resist, and recover from climate change. Strategies include implementing Marine Protected Areas (MPA) and reducing destructive fishing practices. A successful network of Marine Protected Areas, says Abdul Halim, Director of Marine Programs at The Nature Conservancy, “will support the marine ecosystem to adapt, and minimize the impact of global climate change in the near and far term.”
The MPA network exemplifies the multi-level cooperation necessary for effective results. In Kimbe Bay, Papua New Guinea — a CTI partner nation — Nature Conservancy experts sought local input in crafting a resource management plan that affords each partner an important role: The experts assist local governments that in turn draft and implement legislation to enforce coral reef protection. Experts also train community members to monitor and manage the bay’s resources. Local fishermen, for instance, monitor the health of nearby coral reefs and adopt more environmentally friendly practices. Local citizens thus find new livelihoods as they contribute to global environmental protection.
An inclusive partnership circle that engages governments, nongovernmental agencies, and directly affected local communities and individuals, the Coral Triangle Initiative serves as one promising model for achieving the broad support climate-friendly change will require.
The opinions expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the U.S. government.
(This is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://www.america.gov)
