Coral reefs provide fish to about one billion people in Asia alone. The Coral Triangle Initiative on Coral Reefs, Fisheries and Food Security (CTI), launched to protect this vital resource, offers a collaborative, coordinated platform for conservation action. It has already attracted support from members of the G8 and global and regional bodies, including the UN and Asian Development Bank.
The Nature Conservancy works hand in hand with local communities to design and implement sustainability programs that maintain or improve the health of coastal ecosystems. We work with governments and development agencies to establish policies and funding, and with academia and the private sector to develop practices that support sustainable economic development and resource use.
Integrated Ocean Management: We design resilient marine protected area networks to maximize their fisheries benefits and provide food and livelihoods for local communities in the face of climate change. We forge strategic partnerships with fishing, mining and other extractive industries to maximize benefits and minimize impacts of such activities to the people of the Coral Triangle. One such partnership will link the growing U.S. market for sustainable seafood to an emerging fisheries reform effort in Indonesia.
Indigenous and Communal Conservation: Here, where communal ownership of reefs is prevalent, we work with governments to establish legal authority for community-based management — a proven, cost-effective, bottom-up approach that provides direct benefits to communities. Partners in the Arnavon Islands and Wakatobi have been awarded the UN Equator Prize in recognition of outstanding efforts to reduce poverty and conserve biodiversity.
Broadening the Constituency: We launched and support the now independent Coral Triangle Center, a regional learning hub for government, industry, NGOs and communal resource owners that already has served more than 2,500 people. We are working to raise awareness and support for conservation through expanded outreach and the launch of a local website in Indonesia, the world’s 4th most populous nation.
