Talks to focus on Coral Triangle Initiative

DUMAGUETE CITY, Philippines  – The Coral Triangle Initiative (CTI) will be the main focus of the forthcoming 12th International Coral Reef Symposium (ICRS) in mid-July in Cairns, Australia.

The CTI is a multi-lateral partnership of six countries formed to address urgent threats to coastal and marine resources in what is now tagged as the most diverse marine ecosystem in the world.

The six countries with maritime borders delineating the CTI are the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, East Timor, Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands.

According to Prof. Terry Hughes, convener of the 12th ICRS in Australia, some 2,000 delegates from 78 countries, to include the Philippines, are expected to attend the symposium that will focus largely on the CTI.

Held every four years, the ICRS is a major forum for the global coral reef community, among scientists, researchers and managers, tackling threats to coral reefs and what should be done to address such concerns, said Hughes during a recent visit to Silliman University in Dumaguete City.

Hughes said the Coral Triangle Initiative, which he describes as a new multinational attempt to deal with regional scale impacts on coral reefs, will take center stage this time during the symposium, with 170 talks on it.

Also, 120 delegates from the CT6, (a name tag for the six Southeast Asian and Pacific countries that make up the Pacific Coral Triangle), 26 of who are from the Philippines, are attending the ICRS, he said.

At the last ICRS meeting, no talks on the Coral Triangle Initiative were held because it was just an idea then, Hughes said.

The initiative is a major development in the coral reef world, especially because the Coral Triangle is “a bio-diversity hotspot and the most diverse place in the ocean that has got more species of everything than other places,” he said.

“No set of countries has ever successfully come together in this way to deal with coral reefs issues. I take my hat off for the six governments in pushing this initiative through,” said Hughes who is from James Cook University in Australia.

Hughes admitted he was quite satisfied with the coral project which he described as a “bold new experiment” even if, realistically, it will not make a major impact on the regional scale overnight.

He stressed the importance of preserving the coral reefs not just for their conservation value but also as an economic and social imperative because so many people depend on them for their livelihood, including fisheries and income from tourism, like diving.

Global warming, globalization of markets of seafood and coastal development are major issues to be addressed as well, Hughes added.