Coral Triangle Summit: Leaders Strengthen Commitments

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 JAKARTA 000869

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SUBJECT: Coral Triangle Summit: Leaders Strengthen Commitments

REF: BANGKOK 0709

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1. Summary: Leaders from the six Coral Triangle countries (CT6)
officially launched the Coral Triangle Initiative (CTI) on May 15.
The CTI, first proposed by President Yudhoyono in 2007, highlights
both Indonesia's leadership and the importance of a multilateral
approach to issues that transcend national borders: marine
conservation, food security, climate change adaptation. During this
first CTI Summit in Manado, Indonesia, the CT6 leaders pledged
additional financial resources and/or announced new national-level
actions to support the CTI. The CT6 leaders committed to enhance
cooperation and mobilize sustainable financing for the effective
implementation of the CTI. They expressed appreciation to CTI
Development Partners, including the U.S. and Australia. USAID
announced $1.6 million in additional CTI funding for the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to conduct capacity building
efforts. Australia also announced a "down payment" of $2 million in
support of CTI. End Summary.

Background: The Coral Triangle Initiative and Summit
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2. The "Coral Triangle" includes Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New
Guinea (PNG),the Philippines, Timor Leste, and the Solomon Islands.
This 5.7 million square km area has the highest marine biodiversity
on earth and provides livelihoods for approximately 120 million
people. The area is threatened by over- and destructive fishing,
land- and sea-based pollution, and climate change. First proposed
in August 2007 by Indonesian President Yudhoyono, the CT6 agreed in
December 2007 to collaborate on this multilateral partnership. The
CTI is a transformative regional initiative with the potential to
generate significant benefits across the region and globally,
including supporting sustainable economic development, food
security, and the conservation of globally significant marine
resources. The CTI builds on more than three decades of U.S.
investment in coastal resource management, fisheries, and
marine-protected area (MPA) work in the region.


3. The CTI Summit was the finale of the World Ocean Conference
(WOC) hosted by Indonesia, May 11-15. Preparatory CTI meetings and
side-events took place concurrently with the WOC (septel). The U.S.
delegation to the WOC and CTI meetings (and the U.S. contributions
to CTI) dominated media coverage throughout the week, earning
front-page placement in many newspapers.

Additional $1.6 Million from USG for CTI
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4. USAID announced $1.6 million in CTI funding for the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to conduct regional
and national capacity building efforts in sustainable fisheries,
coastal community adaptation to climate change and MPA management --
starting with Indonesia. This is in addition to the existing,
approximately $40 million USG commitment to CTI. Other USG programs
also support the goals of the CTI, including USAID's Global
Conservation Program and its bilateral coastal-marine management
programs in the Philippines and Indonesia.

Senior Officials and Ministerial Meetings
--------------

5. Preparatory meetings for the Senior Officials were held on May
12 and 13 to finalize the CTI Leaders Declaration, consider
coordination and financial mechanisms, and prepare for the Summit.
USAID's Regional Development Mission for Asia was requested to
present a summary of the status of USG CTI programs, including
funding, at these otherwise closed meetings. The officials'
recommendations were reviewed during a brief Ministerial Preparatory
Meeting on May 13, followed by a CTI Ministerial Dinner to which
high ranking partners were also invited.

CTI Leaders Summit
--------------

6. All CT6 leaders emphasized the significance of their
collaboration and the need to work regionally -- with support
channeled through government mechanisms and toward identified
priorities. Their Leaders' Declaration calls for accelerated and
collaborative action, affirms the Ministerial Statement signed in
Port Moresby, PNG on March 10, 2009, adopts the CTI Regional Plan of
Action (RPoA),and calls for the establishment of a permanent
Secretariat (reftel).


7. The Summit's host, Indonesia President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono,

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pledged $5 million for Indonesia's CTI programs as well as a
doubling of the national CTI budget within three years. He
committed to implementing the RPoA and offered to host the CTI
Regional Secretariat in Indonesia, with full financial support for
the day-to-day operations of the Secretariat. Yudhoyono also
announced that a national committee of ministers will meet annually
and discuss progress of the CTI. In addition, Yudhoyono also
announced the establishment of the 4.5-million hectare Savu Sea
National Marine Fisheries Sanctuary bordering Timor Leste, which
takes Indonesia beyond its target of 10 million hectares of MPAs by

2010. He reiterated Indonesia's target of 20 million hectares of
MPAs by 2020, all of which would be sustainably financed and
properly managed. In addition, Yudhoyono stated he had instructed
his ministers to work with other CT6 ministers to prepare unified
positions on climate change adaptation for the climate talks in
Copenhagen this December.


8. Philippines President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo announced $5
million toward the Philippine national efforts under CTI, primarily
to manage important species and establish MPAs. She highlighted
efforts to manage priority seascapes using government-NGO
partnerships and the need to expand opportunities to engage the
private sector. She noted efforts to strengthen bilateral
activities with PNG and the Solomon Islands on fisheries as well as
the need to manage the live reef food fish trade.


9. Timor Leste President Jose Ramos-Horta emphasized the need to
use the oceans in a more sustainable way. He called for the
establishment of a regional task force on maritime security and
fisheries enforcement, noting that illegal fishing results in
significant financial loss to a small and poor state like Timor
Leste.


10. PNG Prime Minister Sir Michael Somare announced Cabinet
approval of $2 million for PNG's CTI activities. He emphasized the
need to strengthen human capacity and for partners to transfer
appropriate technology, in particular to address climate change and
land-based sources of pollution.


11. Solomon Islands Prime Minister Derek Sikua announced the
establishment of a staffed CTI unit within the Ministry of
Environment, Conservation and Meteorology and the creation of a
National Coordination Committee (NCC) that includes representatives
from relevant ministries and NGOs. His cabinet has also endorsed
the National Plan of Action (NPoA) with a commitment to mainstream
CTI activities into the 2010 budget. They will specifically fund a
major national activity on building the resilience and adaptive
capacity of small low-lying outer islands to face the impacts of
climate change.


12. Malaysia Prime Minister Yab Dato'Sri Mohd Najib Tun Abdul Razak
emphasized the need for more ocean research at a regional level and
sustainable management of ecosystems. He noted the importance of
working through the CT6 based on national priorities and existing
initiatives and the recognition of local communities and culture in
integrating interventions. The Prime Minister highlighted one
priority project, the Prime Scientific Sailing Expedition 2009 that
will include mapping and other research in the South China Sea and
the Sulu Sulawesi Marine Ecoregion. This pilot would launch their
CTI program.

CTI Partners Dialogue
--------------

13. A Partnership Dialogue between the CT6 and the U.S. and
Australian governments, multilateral agencies and international NGOs
followed the CTI Summit and was attended by Ministers and senior
officials. The discussion focused on the need to support the CT6
priorities in their regional and national plans, to develop
appropriate funding mechanisms, and to establish and enhance
effective coordination and communication (centered on the Regional
Secretariat) between -- and among -- CT6 countries and partners.
Australia also announced its "down payment" of $2 million in support
of CTI, focusing on Indonesia and Papa New Guinea.

Next Steps
--------------

14. The CT6 laid out a number of next steps. Each country would
launch their respective NCC (with defined resources); each NCC
would move towards full operations, including the implementation of
NPoAs; the interim Regional Secretariat would continue to function

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pending a decision on the location of the permanent Secretariat; and
each country would formally adopt the CTI as national policy by
August 2009.


15. Between August and early October, the three working groups for
Coordination Mechanisms, Financial Resources and Monitoring and
Evaluation will prepare for and meet in conjunction with the Fourth
CTI Senior Officials Meeting (SOM4) in order to formulate and decide
on key recommendations. This will be followed by a Second CTI
Ministerial Meeting to finalize recommendations and decisions from
SOM4 and to prepare for the Copenhagen Climate Change Conference in
December.

HUME