Article: Malaysia to contribute RM3.54mil to save marine life

Published: Friday May 15, 2009 MYT 2:54:00 PM

By SA'ODAH ELIAS

MANADO (Indonesia):Malaysia will contribute US$1mil (RM3.54mil) for the regional programmes under the Coral Triangle Initiative (CTI) that aims to save the marine life in the region's seas, dubbed the "Amazon of the Oceans."

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said although only a small area or 38,000 sq km of Malaysia' waters are included in the area called Coral Triangle, it was supportive of all regional programmes implemented to protect, preserve and sustainably exploit its marine resources.

The 5.7 million sq km wide Coral Triangle that stretches from Indonesia and Malaysia in the west to the Solomon Islands in the east is rich in marine biodiversity with over 600 coral species and 3,000 fish species, many of which are unique to the area. It is home to 76% of the world's coral species and 50% of the world's reef fish species.

Other CTI countries -- Indonesia, Philippines, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Timor Leste -- had also pledged between US$1mil to US$5mil for the programmes.

Speaking to reporters at the CTI Summit here, Najib also announced that in line with this, Malaysia launched a pilot project - Prime Scientific Sailing Expedition 2009 - to protect its marine biodiversity that is to be launched on June 15 in collaboration with the Malaysian navy.

Under the programme, he said, navy ship KD Perantau carrying both local and foreign researchers would sail for 52 days through the affected areas to carry out various oceanographic studies.

"The studies include mapping of the marine flora and fauna such coral reef, marine mammals, fish and invertebrates that inhabit Malaysian seas in the South China Sea, Sulu and Sulawesi seas," he said in his speech at the summit at this north Sulawesi capital Friday.'

The project, added Najib, was also aimed at collecting intensified data about the country's marine resources through the application of state-of-the art technologies in the field of physical, geological, chemical and biological oceanography.

"Towards this end, smart partnerships and strategic alliances between coastal communities, government agencies, non-governmental organisations and other stakeholders at national and regional level are of highest priority," he added.

Najib also called for the CTI project to be implemented based on national priorities and in line with national policies to ensure that participating countries could contribute and benefit fully from such initiatives.

"It should be based on the existing initiatives and projects in this area to avoid duplications and wastage of resources. There must be tangible outputs which are implementable and can be sustained beyond the duration of the project," he added.

Apart from Indonesia which had offered to host the CTI secretariat in Manado, other country which had made similar offer was the Philippines.

Besides monetary commitment from affected countries, the CTI is also expected to receive a total of US$25.5mil funding for its activities from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Global Environment Facility (GEF).

The Southeast Asian region is expected to receive US$$12.3mil in funds to support the collaborative programmes to protect the coral triangle, while the Pacific region is expected to receive US$$13.2mil.

This article was taken from: The Star Online: Nation 15 May 2009