MANADO, North Sulawesi, May 15, 2014 (ANTARA) -- Six state members of Coral Triangle Initiative on Coral Reefs, Fisheries, and Food Security (CTI - CFF) commemorated its 5th anniversary by officially establishing a Permanent Regional Secretariat which is absed on Manado, Indonesia. CTI-CFF is multilateral partnership of six countries, spanning of Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Solomon Island, and East Timor, established on 2009 with the mission of eradicating the real threats faced by the Coral Triangle.

The Secretariat, which is to reside a 1.5 hectare of new complex in Manado, North Sulawesi, will act as the control centre and the main coordinating board to implement the CTI-CFF Regional Action Plan. Sharif C. Sutardjo, the Minister of Marine Affairs and Fisheries, said, "The Action Plan covers the establishment of seascapes towards the focus of the marine resource management, the development of the waters conservation zone, the sustainable fishery management building, the adaptation reinforcement of the coastal areas to the climate change, and the conservation of the endangered marine species."

Sharif continued, "Four of six CTI-CFF countries, Indonesia, Malaysia, East Timor, and Solomon Island, have already ratified the agreement. The agreement therefore is already kicked off."

In addition to the inauguration of the Coral Triangle Center, the CTI-CFF Ministerial Council also approved the application for the Coral Triangle Marine Protected Area System (CTMPAS) and the CTI-CFF Women Leaders Forum as well as ratifying a few last steps of the admission process of Brunei Darussalam as the new CTI-CFF member. the Ministerial Council consists of the Indonesian Marine Affairs and Fisheries Sharif C. Sutardjo; Department Secretary of Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Climate Change, Papua Nugini Gunther Joku; Undersecretary for Policy and Planning,Department of Environment and Natural Resources, the Philippines, Manuel Gerochi; The Minister of Environment, Climate Change, Disaster Management, and Meteorology, Solomon Island, Bradley Tovosia; and the Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, East Timor, Mariano Assanami Sabino.

The CTI-CFF is supported by a number of governmental, organizational, and NGO partners, such as The Government of Australia, the Government of United States, Asian Development Bank (ADB), Global Environment Facility, Conservation International, The Nature Conservancy, Worldwide Fund for Nature, and Coral Triangle Center.

For more information, please contact:

Anang Noegroho
Head of Statistic and Data Center
The Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries
+62-21-351-9070


Editor: PR Wire
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