12.15.12 U.S. Support to the Monthly Program Update November 2012 Supporting countries of the Coral Triangle region to sustain their marine resources IN THIS ISSUE Solomon Islands Launches Innovative Mobile Fisheries Data Collection Platform Sabah Steps Up Fight Against Illegal Capture of Endangered Sea Turtles CTSP Boosts Philippine Muncipalities' Capacity to Fight Illegal and Destructive Fishing Traditional Fishing Boats Used to Raise Awareness on Marine Pollution Philippine CTI National Coordinating Committee Roadshow UPCOMING EVENTS CTI-CFF Partners Meeting Jan. 16-17, 2013 Bali, Indonesia Four Coral Triangle Countries Sign Agreement Enabling Establishment of the Permanent Regional Secretariat The Governments of Indonesia, Malaysia, Solomon Islands, and Timor-Leste officially signed an agreement to establish the Coral Triangle Initiative (CTI) permanent Regional Secretariat at the 4th CTI Ministerial Meeting held in Putrajaya, Malaysia on November 26, 2012. The remaining CTI member countries, Philippines and Papua New Guinea, are also expected to sign the agreement in the following months. As a result the CTI is now moving forward with steps to establish the permanent regional secretariat, including developing funding mechanisms, procedures for staff recruitment, and the approval of a Transition Work Plan, the first CTI Regional Secretariat Operations plan and a CTI Regional Communications Plan. The plans will aid the smooth transition to a permanent Secretariat. USAID supported the drafting of the communications plan and operations strategy plan and has been supporting the CTI through a five-year program that aims to strengthen regional cooperation among the six CTI countries and enable them to address threats to marine biodiversity, fisheries and food security. CTI-CFF Live Reef Fish Trade Intergovernmental Forum Jan. 31-Feb, 1, 2013 Bangkok, Thailand 4th CTI-CFF Regional
Exchange on MPAs March 11-15, 2013 Solomon Islands Click Here to Join Our Mailing List Click the cover to download the document Solomon Islands Launches Innovative Mobile Fisheries Data Collection Platform The Solomon Islands Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources officially launched its first ever platform for rapid collection and consolidation of inshore fisheries data using mobile technology. The new effort aims to improve management of inshore fisheries by strengthening collection of socio-economic and biological fisheries data within the country's nine provinces and 28 fish landing centers, some of which are located in remote areas. Data collected from mobile devices such as mobile phones and tablet computers will incorporate such factors as fishing effort, A fish vendor in Gizo, Solomon Islands Credit: James Morgan/CTSP seasonal variation in size and availability, market prices, percentage collected for sale versus family consumption and variation in costs to fishers. This information will be used to address overfishing, declining fish stocks, reduced catch, potential impacts of climate change on inshore fisheries and overall food security of those most dependent on inshore fisheries for livelihoods and food. The project, being rolled out from October 2012 until September 2013, is supported by USAID's Coral Triangle Support Partnership including WWF, The Nature Conservancy, and the WorldFish Center. Discussions are already underway with other Coral Triangle governments about learning from and replicating the model. Sabah Steps Up Fight Against Illegal Capture of Endangered Sea Turtles
The Sabah Wildlife Department, with support from the Coral Triangle Support Partnership and WWF- Malaysia, organized a stakeholder consultation meeting On November 29, 2012 to discuss the issue of illegal capture of endangered sea turtles within the proposed one-million hectare Tun Mustapha Park. The consultation was done following an inspection by "Honorary Wildlife Wardens" on a fishing vessel at Kudat Port that contained sea turtles, which resulted in a police investigation on the fishing boat owner. Honorary Wildlife Wardens are local community members trained to detect and report on illegal and destructive fishing activities in the proposed Tun Mustapha Park A newly-hatched sea turtle goes out to sea in.kudat Credit: WWF Malaysia Representatives from various government and non-government agencies in Sabah also attended the meeting including those from the Department of Fisheries Sabah and Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency, Kudat Turtle Conservation Society, Kudat Fishing Boat Owners Association and tourism companies including Ria Hotel, Tommy's Place, Lanerra Backpackers, and Kudat Golf and Marina Resort. Meeting participants discussed the incidents of illegal capture of turtle in the district and planned collaborative awareness raising activities to be implemented in the next three months to further stem the capture of sea turtles in the area. CTSP Boosts Philippine Muncipalities' Capacity to Fight Illegal and Destructive Fishing Sitangkai Municipality receives new patrol boats from CTSP Credit: WWF Philippines coming months. The Coral Triangle Support Partnership (CTSP) through WWF-Philippines, has helped boost the capacity of Sitangkai and Languyan municipalities in southern Philippines to fight destructive and illegal fishing practices. In November 2012, CTSP led a series of workshops to train 18 Bantay Dagat (Sea Wardens) officers and volunteers from six communities to improve their patrolling skills and turned over four patrol boats, megaphones and telescopes to the local government. CTSP also met with the Mayor of Sitangkai to ensure that the Bantay Dagat gets government support in its activities. CTSP will continue to work with the municipality of Sibutu in developing a Comprehensive Land and Water Use Plan in the Traditional Fishing Boats Used to Raise Awareness on Marine Pollution
Members of the Banggi Youth Club use boggo-boggo to collect trash from the ocean Credit: WWF Malaysia The Coral Triangle Support Partnership through WWF-Malaysia organized a beach clean up with the Banggi Youth Club in the proposed Tun Mustapha Marine Park on November 24, 2012. The clean up aimed to raise awareness on the impacts of solid waste generated from fishermen's boats on the coastal ecosystem. The clean up used the traditional boggo-boggo boat to collect trash from the sea and along coastal areas. Boggo-boggo boats are often used by local communities to commute from one part of the island to the other. As part of the activity, youth club members also built recycle bins along the jetty and fish market to encourage locals to practice proper solid waste disposal and management and reduce inland pollution that are often washed to the sea and end up in the reefs within the park. Philippine CTI National Coordinating Committee Roadshow Harnesses Local Participation Thirty representatives from various government agencies involved in fisheries and environmental protection attended the first Coral Reefs, Fisheries and Food Security (CTI) Philippine roadshow on November 16, 2012 in Quezon City. The roadshow, aimed to generate awareness and encourage wider participation of CTI activities in the Luzon region, highlighted cases of successful marine resource conservation practices at the local level. It also provided an update on the implementation of the CTI Philippines' National Plan of Action (NPOA), reported on key highlights of the State of the Coral Triangle Report, and gathered information from local governments that are implementing site-level activities that contribute to the achievement of the sustainability and conservation targets of the NPOA. The roadshow also introduced the Marine Protected Area Management Effectiveness Assessment Tool (MPA-MEAT) to encourage local governments to participate in the annual Marine Protected Area Awards and Recognition in 2013. Participants came from various Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Offices, the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Regional Offices, and Department of Environment and Natural Resources Regional Offices. USAID's Coral Triangle Support Partnership and the GIZ Adaptation to Climate Change on Coastal Areas Project supported the roadshow, which will also be replicated in 2013 to include participants from the Visayas and Mindanao regions.
Local government leaders from Luzon attend the first CTI Roadshow in the Philippines About the US (CTI) Support Program The US CTI Support Program is part of the Unites States government's commitment to promote the sustainable management of the marine and coastal resources in the Coral Triangle. In cooperation with the Coral Triangle national governments and the international community, this five-year program provides technical assistance and helps build capacity to address critical issues including food security, climate change, and marine biological diversity. For more details about the program visit us at www.uscti.org To learn more abut the CTI visit www.coraltriangleinitiative.org Follow us elsewhere in the web Forward this email This email was sent to vic.ferguson@wfcrc.org by info@uscti.org Update Profile/Email Address Instant removal with SafeUnsubscribe Privacy Policy. US CTI Support Program Integrator Chartered Square Building, 29th Floor, Unit 2902 152 North Sathorn Road Bangkok 10110 Thailand