The Coral Triangle Initiative on Coral Reefs, Fisheries and Food Security (CTI-CFF)

In 2009, the six Coral Triangle governments (Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Solomon Islands, and Timor-Leste) and a group of Development Partners formed the Coral Triangle Initiative on Coral Reefs, Fisheries and Food Security (CTI-CFF), a multi-lateral initiative that integrates and addresses critical issues such as food security, livelihoods, climate change, and marine biodiversity through a people centered approach to conservation. WWF will continue its support to and engagement as a partner in the CTI-CFF with the shared vision to conserve and sustainably use oceans, seas and marine resources through the implementation of the CTI-CFF Regional Plan of Action and the six Coral Triangle countries National Plans of Action (RPOA).

The CTI-CFF is a collaborative approach to addressing threats and issues confronting the Coral Triangle and its people.. The goal is to sustainably manage and protect marine ecosystems, encourage responsible industries e.g. fishing and tourism, increase effectiveness of marine protected and managed areas (MPAs and MMAs), and increase social and economic benefits from sustainable use of marine resources.

The Coral Triangle is the worlds epicentre of marine biodiversity. Encompassing all or parts of the six Coral Triangle countries , this scientifically-defined area is home to more than 350 million people, 130 million of which rely directly on their coastal and marine resources. The region includes 76 per cent of known coral species, more than 3,000 reef fish species, and six of the worlds seven known species of marine turtles. Numerous species of cetaceans, sharks, commercially-valuable pelagic fish species such as tuna, and many other important marine creatures live in and migrate through these waters. It is also a culturally diverse region with more than 1,000 separate languages spoken across the six nations.

Key threats facing the Coral Triangle include unsustainable and illegal fishing, illegal trade (e.g. marine turtles, sharks), unsustainable aquaculture, unsustainable development, climate change, pollution, extractives, and public/private sector funding directed to unsustainable development. Rapid population and economic growth have fuelled unsustainable development and boosted demand for seafood, both for global markets and for the millions of local people who depend on seafood every day for food security.

The CTI-CFF 10-year Regional Plan of Action (CTI-RPOA) has five strategic goals:

1. Priority seascapes designated and effectively managed;
2. Ecosystem approach to managing fisheries and other marine resources fully applied;
3. Marine protected areas established and effectively managed;
4. Climate change adaptation measures achieved; and
5. Threatened species status improving.

The six countries have established the Coral Triangle Marine Protected Area System (CTMPAS) Framework and Action Plan that set a target of 10 per cent of critical marine habitats in no-take marine reserves by 2020 and 20 per cent of critical marine habitats in some form of MPA by 2020. The inclusion of MPAs and MPA networks in the CTMPAS are based on their regional value, uniqueness or importance, and the level of management effectiveness they achieved in meeting basic criteria as MPA site or networks that were selected and proposed by the countries.