 |
The Coral Triangle Initiative 2007-2012
No place on earth has such great biodiversity as the Coral Triangle. The triangle covers almost 6,000,000 km2 and stretches out as far as Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, East Timor and Brunei Darussalam. The triangle is a true nursery of the sea, being the home of 75% of all coral species and of more than 3,000 different fish species.
The area is seriously threatened by a range of factors, such as overfishing, destructive fishing (for example by the use of dynamite and cyanide), global warming and pollution.
Here, the World Wildlife Federation is setting up one of its largest and most ambitious projects ever, which aims to introduce a new, long term model for the sustainable management of this wildlife area - before the combination of threatening factors will have left a permanent mark on it, and on the millions of households that depend on it.
The project requires a whole range of simultaneous initiatives that address the various threats. If organised in the proper way, the initiatives will reinforce each other. A specially formed Coral Triangle Team will coordinate the entire project, and will in the coming years revise the strategy if necessary - possibly by developing new initiatives.
The eventual purpose of this project is to save the nurseries of the Coral Triangle, which are of vital importance to the conservation of a healthy ecosystem in the oceans and along the coasts of the Coral Triangle.
In the six years to come, the Turing Foundation contributes € 3,000,000 in total to the six sub-initiatives that are part of the first phase of the programme. These six initiatives are described below.
|
1. Sustainable Finance for Networks of Marine Protected Areas
|
A new foundation will be established for the identification and management of protected marine areas in the Coral Triangle, which consist of 50,000 km2 of coral reefs, 50,000 km2 of mangrove forests, and breeding grounds and migration routes of important fish species in 500,000 km2 of open water.
The foundation helps to bridge budget gaps, until the local governments have their financial situations in order. The foundation is also able to offer immediate help should there be urgent needs in the protected areas.
The Turing Foundation will contribute € 600,000 to this foundation.
A 1.5 metre Napoleon fish. These special coral fish are captured alive and then kept in the aquaria of very chic restaurants. Sometimes ten thousand square metres of coral are poisoned by cyanide to stun just one fish, after which the divers haul the stunned animal up between the coral into a mobile aquarium.
|
|
2. Managing Tuna nurseries and bycatch
|
Tuna fishing yields food and income for tens of millions of people living in the Coral Triangle. Besides, tuna plays a crucial role in the ecology of the coral reefs.
The governments in the Coral Triangle acknowledge that their fishing areas can be continuous sources of food and income, as long as they are managed in the right way. Therefore, they have laid down laws for the sustainable use of these areas. However, structural overfishing has been taking place during the past twenty years.
Together with the business community and the government strategies and solutions will have to be designed to prevent the loss of tuna production in the Coral Triangle. The Turing Foundation will donate € 650,000 to this sub-initiative, which will run until 2010.
|
3. Live Reef Fish Trade Transformation
|
This programme intends to achieve a recovery of the diverse fish population in the Coral Triangle, and a reduction of destructive fishing methods (such as dynamite fishing). One of the actions is the establishment of a Trade Association in the fishing industry (especially in Hong Kong) to promote sensible trade in the species of fish concerned. Simultaneously, plans will be made to encourage consumers to buy only fish that has been MSC certified.
The Turing Foundation will contribute € 300,000 to the LRFTT-programme, which will run until 2010.
|
4. Protecting Endangered Turtles
|
Six out of the seven species of sea turtles we have on this earth live in the Coral Triangle. The animals are threatened most by the accidental bycatch of fishermen and by the loss of breeding habitat along the coasts. These majestic animals do not only play a principle role in the tourist industry; they also have an important symbolic meaning in initiatives and fundraising related to the protection of the Coral Triangle.
The main purpose of this sub-project is to make certain that half of all migration routes, feeding areas and breeding habitats of sea turtles have a protected status by 2010. Moreover, WWF intends to halve the fishery bycatch of turtles, for example by distributing more than 300,000 circle hooks among the fisher fleet for the prevention of bycatch.
The Turing Foundation will contribute € 250,000 to this sub-project.
|
5. Responding to Climate Change through reduction of Tourism and travel footprint
|
Global warming is bad for coral reefs - the corals will bleach, lose all their colour and eventually die. This is at the expense of marine life; it will limit fishing opportunities and reduce opportunities for tourism (which is an important source of income and an important stimulus for the protection of the corals).
It is possible to help to coral reefs by avoiding any further negative impact of climate change, and by reducing other disturbing effects on their health (such as polluting industries, tourism and fishing).
The Turing Foundation will contribute € 600,000 to this sub-initiative, which will run until 2010.
The Coral Triangle Initiative is a dynamic programme. It can be expected that extra activities are needed in the years to come in order to guarantee the success of the total project. Extra budget is already being made available for such future activities.
The Turing Foundation subscribes to this realistic viewpoint and commits € 600,000 support to these currently unnamed sub-projects.
see also:
Miljoenenschenking voor WNF-koraalproject (WWF)
Donation for Coral Protection (EZNC)
Dr. Lida Pet Soede (WWF) over het Coral Triangle Initiative (Television)
The Coral Triangle Initiative (WWF website)
|
