ADB Coral Triangle Pacific Program

Mapping in Solomon Islands (Credit: James Hardcastle/TNC)

Objectives

• strengthening the capabilities of national and local institutions in the five countries in sustainable coastal and marine resources management; and
• application by coastal communities of best practices in ecosystem-based fishery management and climate change adaptation.

Three of the five countries—Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, and Timor-Leste—are in the Coral Triangle group of countries, (which also includes Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines).

The others are Fiji and Vanuatu. All five countries have common environmental  concerns  in climate change and biodiversity conservation under the Global Environment Facility Pacific Alliance for Sustainability.

Project Impact and Outcome

• More resilient marine and coastal ecosystems in these countries will halt and reverse the decline in the productivity of these systems, thus improving national food security; and
• the capacity building efforts, resulting in more effective integrated coastal resources management will make the development of coastal communities more resilient to climate change and thus more sustainable.

Country Priorities

1. Fiji: Ra Province is the focus of efforts to build on the lessons learned from past integrated coastal resources management attempts and to apply the Fiji Locally Managed Marine Area community-based management model. The work will be done by Department of Environment under guidance of the Integrated Coastal Management Committee.
2. Papua New Guinea will build on coastal management work in Kimbe Bay, with a focus on managing land-based threats and identifying livelihood opportunities through ecologically sustainable economic development; and extend ecosystem-based coastal fisheries management in Manus Island. The work will be done by the Department of Environment and Conservation.
3. The Solomon Islands will introduce integrated coastal resources management and ecosystem-based coastal fisheries management within an existing community-based program, with a focus on Malaita and Isabel Provinces. Implementation will be shared by the Ministry of Environment, Climate Change, Disaster Management and Meteorology, and Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources.
4. Timor-Leste’s National Directorate of Fisheries and Aquaculture, Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, will introduce integrated coastal resources management and ecosystem-based coastal fisheries management around the islands of Atauro Island and Batugede.
5. Vanuatu’s Department of Environment, Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources will develop planning in coastal communities on integrated coastal resources management and ecosystem-based coastal fisheries management.

Collaborative Partnerships

The project also involves activities by several nongovernment institutions in partnership with the countries.

• The International Food Policy Research Institute will study the economic impacts of climate change on coastal and marine resources, to prepare a development strategy for coastal communities in the countries. This entails the following:

1. review the relationships between population, food security, and natural resource use;
2. modeling the impact of different scenarios of population growth and climate change on food security and coastal and marine resources;
3. assessing the benefits to coastal communities of current economic development plans; and
4. formulating strategies for improving food security of coastal communities over the medium to long term.

• The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) will support the development of legal capability in the countries by:

1. strengthening their environmental laws, including building public and private sector environmental law capacity; linking the countries to regional legal networks, awareness building, and training; and establishing environmental law associations;
2. helping the countries to develop a regional learning forum; and synthesizing, sharing, and disseminating best practices in integrated coastal resources management.

• World Fish Center will help the countries respond to climate change by identifying potential adaptation approaches and ways to decide which are the best approaches, by:

1. developing guidelines, method manuals,  and training materials for developing future climate scenarios and for assessing  vulnerability to their impacts at different scales; and
2. developing procedures for climate change adaptation, including policy, planning, and implementation.

The project will cost US$18.5 million and is being funded by the Asian Development Bank with co-financing from the Global Environment Facility, Regional Cooperation and Integration Fund, and Australian Institute of Marine Science, as well as cash and in-kind contributions from the governments of the five countries.

ADB’s Pacific Department is the executing agency and will exercise overall responsibility for the coordination, supervision, and implementation of all project activities.

Download the printer-friendly version of the ADB Coral Triangle Pacific Program brief.

Contact Information

Robert Guild
Director
Pacific Department
rguild@adb.org

Marilou Drilon
Senior Natural Resources Economist
Pacific Department
mldrilon@adb.org