WWF-Malaysia Hails Government Commitment In the Coral Triangle Initiative

Bernama 15 May 09;

KUALA LUMPUR, May 15 (Bernama) -- World Wide Fund for Nature-Malaysia (WWF-Malaysia) has congratulated the Malaysian Government for signing a declaration and agreeing to be an active participant of the Coral Triangle Initiative.

WWF-Malaysia in a statement here Friday said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak together with Heads of State of five other countries of the region, signed a Declaration to emphasize Malaysia's commitment to manage and conserve the living marine resources of the Coral Triangle, in Manado, North Sulawesi.

"The Coral Triangle is considered to be the most biologically diverse and the richest marine resource area in the world," WWF-Malaysia said.

The six countries involved in the unique and noble venture are Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Solomon Islands and Timor Leste.

It said as part of the Declaration, a Regional Plan of Action with five major goals was adopted.

Among the important issues the Plan of Action will address are food security and poverty reduction, along with the conversation of endangered marine species and sustainable management of living marine resources, it said.

"WWF-Malaysia together with other NGOs assisted in drafting the Regional Plan of Action and we are looking forward to supporting our Government in finalizing our own National Plan of Action emphasizing sustainable fishing, creating more MPAs (Marine Protected Areas) with good management practices, conservation of endangered marine species, such as marine turtles, and the impact of climate change on the marine eco-systems and the fishing sector," it said.

WWF-Malaysia in collaboration with the Department of Fisheries Malaysia and Sabah is working on establishing the ecosystem approach as a tool for fisheries resource management, considering that the demersal fish stock in Malaysia's territorial and EEZ waters has declined drastically in the last 35 years.

It said it would continue to support the Department of Fisheries and partners to implement the National Plan of Action for Marine Turtles which was launched in November 2008.

WWF-Malaysia has called on the Malaysian Government to allocate more resources to the relevant government authorities to implement activities which would fulfil the country's obligation under the Coral Triangle Initiative Declaration, and more importantly to achieve its own national policies to manage and conserve Malaysia's marine environment, to provide food security and to eradicate poverty.

-- BERNAMA