Coral Triangle - Management Strategies

Management of the Coral Triangle
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Government Collaboration
The six nations of the Coral Triangle came together in 2009 to form the Coral Triangle Initiative on Coral Reefs, Fisheries and Food Security. The countries use national coordinating committees, learning networks, regional exchanges, capacity building workshops to come together to share their knowledge and expertise.

The Coral Triangle Support Partnership (CTSP) is an initiative run in collaboration with WWF, The Nature Conservancy, Conservation International and USAid, among other groups. It is a 5 year, $32 million program designed to support the governments of Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Philippines,mSolomon Islands and Timor-Leste. The initiative is aimed at addressing over-fishing, destructive fishing practices, pollution and climate change.

CTSP assists in setting up and managing Marine Protected Areas, to conserve reefs and fish, protect shorelines, improve fisheries catches for locals, and enhance quality of life for communities.

Each of the six nations has a National plan of Action which is aligned with the Regional Plan of Action set out by the CTI.

Sustainable fishing
Fishing practices are regulated, management practices align with stock distribution, spawning areas and migration routes are monitored and regulated.

Malaysia
- 5.5 million hectares of marine ecosystems under protection.
- Training of wildlife wardens to manage coastal resources
- Stopped issuing permits for export of endangered humphead wrasse, and buy back systems to buy out the species from fish farms.
- Maliangian Handicraft Workshop - provide alternative lifestyle options to fishing.

Papua New Guinea
- Empower local communities and their traditional laws
- Workshops, field trips, training
- Locally Managed Marine Areas
- Manus Environmental Communities Network - share best practice with communities
- Milne Bay - fishermen trained and engaged in environmental monitoring, find raising and reporting.
- Mahonia Na Dari Research and Conservation Centre - The Mahonia Na Dari Research and - Conservation Centre is a non-government organisation that develops marine environmental conservation education for children and local communities around Kimbe Bay, Papua New Guinea.

Solomon Islands
- Volunteer rangers in Western Provincetown monitor and tag turtle populations using their skills in water acrobatics and free diving.
- Development of Best Practice Guidelines
- Building the capacity of local groups such as the Gizo Marine Conservation Area Management Committee and the Tetepare Descendants Association
- Tetepare Island - ecotourism, local rangers, gather data, patrol the island, monitor harvesting and confiscate illegal catches. 

Philippines
- 20,000 hectares of Marine Protected Areas.
- Government to map and plan ways to increase fish numbers for the future.
- Mangrove planting projects

Timor-Leste
- Establishment of Niño Konis Santana National Park
- Community awareness -workshops, film screenings, hands-on training, 
- Surveys of coastlines

WWF Infographic - Marine protected areas in the Coral Triangle A map showing the Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), Coral Triangle boundaries, value of fisheries, subsidies paid to commercial fisheries, and funding required to support MPAs. See more...

New hope for fisheries development in the Pacific.
Financing marine protected areas.
Coral Triangle Center
Protecting marine turtles in the Indo-Pacific.
Building a sustainable live reef food fish trade

Promoting sustainable tuna fisheries in the Coral Triangle
Tackling fisheries bycatch

Effectiveness
Malaysia - Traders continued to keep wrasse in "grow out" cages
Papua New Guinea- difficult to coordinate as there are diverse systems of traditional law.
Solomon Islands - geographical spread- managed by local communities. Lack of technical skills, scientific data, and resources such as equipment and fuel can hinder management. Complex clan structures and customary land ownership.
Philippines - vulnerable communities
Timor-Leste -limited information of reefs make it difficult for planning and decision-making.

Something's fishy
Legal and Policy gaps in the management of the live reef food fish trade in the Coral Triangle.

See my previous posts:
Coral Triangle - Human Impacts
​Coral reefs - Coral Triangle