About CTI-CFF
CTI-CFF History
The Coral Triangle Initiative on Coral Reefs, Fisheries, and Food Security (CTI-CFF) is a multilateral partnership of six countries working together to sustain extraordinary marine and coastal resources by addressing crucial issues such as food security, climate change, and marine biodiversity.
Recognizing the critical need to safeguard the region’s marine and coastal resources, in 2009, Indonesian President Yudhoyono inspired other leaders in the region to launch the Coral Triangle Initiative on Coral Reefs, Fisheries and Food Security (CTI-CFF) through the signing of the Leaders Declaration.
It is the first multilateral cooperation of its kind, one that focuses on food security through sustainable management of marine natural resources taking into consideration climate change impacts. The CTI-CFF is formed in 2009 and members include the governments of Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Solomon Islands and Timor-Leste (the ‘CT6’) representing the custodians of the Coral Triangle area.
At the Leader’s Summit in 2009, these governments agreed to adopt a 10-year CTI-CFF Regional Plan of Action (CTI RPOA) to safeguard the region’s marine and coastal biological resources. The RPOA has five (5) goals: strengthening the management of seascapes; promoting an ecosystem approach to fisheries management; establishing and improving effective management of marine protected areas; improving coastal community resilience to climate change; and protecting threatened species.
Through the CTI-CFF, the Coral Triangle Member Parties have agreed to apply people-centered biodiversity conservation, sustainable development, poverty reduction, and equitable benefit sharing. The CTI-CFF seeks to address both poverty reduction through economic development, food security, sustainable livelihoods for coastal communities and biodiversity conservation through the protection of species, habitats, and ecosystems.
About CTI-CFF MALAYSIA
Sustainable Ocean Management Unit under the Ministry of Energy, Science, Technology, Environment and Climate Change (MESTECC) serves as the focal point and the National Secretariat of the Malaysia CTI-CFF National Coordination Committee (NCC), assists by CTI Sabah Branch located in Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS). Its members include both representatives from various federal and state-level government agencies. At the federal level, the members include representatives from the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Agriculture and Agro-based Industry, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Housing and Local Government, Ministry of Transport, Ministry of Water, Land and Natural Resources, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture and Prime Minister’s Department.
At the state level, the members include the Sabah State Government Office comprising the Chief Minister Department, Sabah Federal Secretary’s Office, Sabah Economic Planning Unit, the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Environment and the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industry. NOD has also mobilized inter-agency working groups that include non-government organizations, universities and environmental agencies in Sabah. NOD is also in the midst of establishing a CTI-CFF branch office located in Universiti Malaysia Sabah to assist the National Secretariat in the CTI-CFF region.
The Malaysia CTI-CFF National Plan Action focuses on the development and implementation of innovative management approaches to overcome climate change risks and overexploitation of marine resources that could spur new sources of growth for our livelihood.
It embodies 12 guiding principles representing Malaysia’s commitments in various treaties, policies and declaration commitments in international forums and contains 134 specific actions that will directly contribute to the achievement of five goals of the CTI-CFF Regional Plan of Action.
Malaysia has been appointed as the Chair of the CTI-CFF Council of Ministers from November 2011 to 2013. Its CTI-CFF NCC has hosted a number of CTI-CFF regional events including the 4th CTI Senior Officials’ Meeting and Coordination Mechanism Working Groups Meeting in October 2009.
It has taken the lead in various regional exchanges such as the CTI-CFF Regional Exchange on Ecosystem Approach to Live Reef Fish Trade in October 2010 and the Second CTI-CFF Regional Exchange and Policy Workshop on Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries Management in September 2011.
Malaysia has hosted international conferences and meetings such as the First International Conference on Managing Ecosystem Health of Tropical Seas in October 2010, CTI-CFF Symposium on Scientific Research and Sustainable Management of Ocean Ecosystem Health at the 22nd Pacific Science Congress in June 2011 and the highly successful CTI-CFF Regional Business Forum in October 2011. At the national level, it has established an online portal, the Malaysian National Oceanographic Data Centre (MyNODC) for CTI-CFF news and publications and has advanced the application of ecosystem approaches to fisheries management in its priority site in Sabah.