22 September 2015: The Coral Triangle Initiative on Coral Reefs, Fisheries and Food Security (CTI-CFF) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) at the 26th Annual SPREP Meeting, which is convening in Apia, Samoa. The CTI-CFF and SPREP will collaborate on a regional community-based turtle conservation project.

The two groups “have shared interests in a number of areas in the relation to the protection of marine and coastal environment,” SPREP Director-General David Sheppard said, noting that SPREP welcomes future cooperation with the CTI-CFF.

The CTI-CFF looks forward to learning from SPREP, especially on addressing “climate change adaptation and protecting coastal and marine resources,” said CTI-CFF’s Executive-Director Widi A. Pratikto.

The MoU will help SPREP to expand its current community-based turtle conservation project, which has focused on Fiji, Kiribati and the Solomon Islands, and is funded by the Government of New Zealand. [SPREP Press Release] [CTI-CFF Website]