US pledges $40 M to save Coral Triangle

The United States has pledged $40 million to save the world’s greatest expanse of coral reef, mangrove and fish ecosystems, the US Embassy in Manila said yesterday.

Ambassador Kristie Kenney announced the fresh aid during the second Coral Triangle Initiative (CTI) Senior Officials’ Meeting in Manila.

MANILA, Philippines – The Coral Triangle is a six-million square-kilometer expanse of water and coastline where the Pacific and Indian Oceans meet, which scientists say contains the greatest concentration of marine organisms anywhere in the world.

The area, home to 30 percent of the world’s coral reefs and three-quarters of known coral species, is under threat from pollution, unsustainable fishing practices, and climate change, Kenney told the conference.

The assistance will go to the CTI, a consortium formed to promote sustainable fisheries and coastal resource management programs in East Timor, Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines and the Solomon Islands.

Kenney said the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and the US Department of State will provide funds over the next five years to CTI.

“The Coral Triangle Initiative builds on three decades of assistance that the US government has provided for coastal resources management in the Asia-Pacific,” Kenney said.