19 May 2011: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is providing a US$1 million grant from its concessional Technical Assistance Special Fund and the Global Environment Facility (GEF) is providing US$11.2 million in cofinancing in support of the Coastal and Marine Management Project to improve natural resource management and job alternatives in the Coral Triangle. The Governments of Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines are providing an additional US$3 million in non-cash contributions.

The Coral Triangle is known as the “Amazon of the Seas” for being one of the world’s most diverse and threatened marine ecosystems. It encompasses ocean areas in six countries in Southeast Asia and the Pacific.

Kunio Senga, Director-General, ADB’s South East Asia Department, said the project aims to “strengthen national and local institutions for sustainable coastal and marine ecosystem management and to establish support mechanisms for sustainable livelihoods in coastal communities.” Maria Lourdes Drilon, ADB’s Natural Resources and Agriculture Economist, emphasized that coral reefs in the area are under threat from harmful human activities, due to inadequate implementation of policies and legislation, and inadequate coordination among agencies engaged in projects on coastal and marine resources management.

The project complements existing projects co-financed by ADB and the GEF, which assist Papua New Guinea (PNG), Solomon Islands and Timor-Leste in fulfilling their Coral Triangle Initiative (CTI) objectives, as well as involve Fiji and Vanuatu in these efforts. [ADB News]