PUTRAJAYA, 26 Nov 2012 – The 4th Meeting of the CTI-CFF Council of Ministers (MM4) was held in Putrajaya, Malaysia on 26 November 2012. The meeting was chaired by the Hon. Datuk Seri Panglima Dr. Maximus Johnity Ongkili, Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation of Malaysia, and attended by Hon. Bradley Tovosia, Minister of Environment, Climate Change, Disaster Management and Meteorology of the Solomon Islands; H.E. Mariano ASSANAMI Sabino, Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, H.E. Dr. Gellwynn Jusuf, Secretary General, Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries, Indonesia; H.E. Veali Vagi, High Commissioner of Papua New Guinea to Malaysia; and.Hon. Atty. Ernesto D. Adobo Jr., Undersecretary of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources of the Republic of the Philippines.
The Fourth Ministerial meeting was to deliver new and innovative ideas, tools, modalities and recommendations in addressing issues facing the Coral Triangle region. These included strategies on CTI Sustainable Financing and Communication, criteria development for admission of new partners and transitional and operational plan for the regional secretariat.
THE CTI-CFF was formed to address critical threats to coastal and marine resources in one of the most biologically diverse and ecologically rich regions on earth. The Coral Triangle is home to 76% of all known coral species, 53% of the world’s coral reefs, and 37% of all known coral reef fish species. It also has the greatest extent of mangrove forests in the world, and is the spawning and juvenile growth areas for tuna and other globally significant commercial fish species.
The CTI-CFF is also to reaffirm the commitment of member countries to agree to the establishment of a permanent regional secretariat. The meeting will renew commitments by member countries and the founding Development Partners, toward the effective implementation of CTI Roadmap 2013. A declaration to be known as the Putrajaya CTI Joint-Ministerial Statement 2012 will be the key document in guiding the CTI-CFF forward towards realisation of its objectives and aspirations.
Representatives from several Development Partners attended as observers. They were – the Australian Government, the government of the United States of America through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID); Asian Development Bank (ADB); several NGOs such as Conservation International (CI); The Nature Conservation (TNC) and WWF-International and WWF Malaysia.
