MANILA – President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is to leave for Indonesia Wednesday to join the leaders of five other Southeast Asian nations in an unprecedented meeting to tackle the problems posed by climate change to the “Coral Triangle,” a senior Malacanang official announced.
Press Secretary Cerge Remonde said the President is scheduled to stay for two days Manado, the capital of the Indonesian island province of Sulawesi, which is hosting the World Ocean Conference (WOC), sponsored by the United Nations.
While in Manado, President Arroyo will discuss with  leaders of the five other nations on ways to protect and preserve the Coral Triangle ecosystem, especially on how to mitigate the effects of global warming from May 13 to 15, Remonde said.
Comprising the Coral Triangle are the Philippines, Timor Leste, Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands.
Citing pertinent portions of a briefing paper, Remonde said the Coral Triangle covers an area of nearly 7.5 million square kilometers, sustains the lives of nearly 130 million peoples as well as contains key spawning and nursery grounds for tuna and other fish species which are harvested for food.
As proof, Remonde said the six nations make up about 70 percent of the world’s tuna catch, including the threatened species such as the big eye and yellowfin tuna.
Actually, however, the Coral Triangle forms part of the major topics to be tackled during the Woc, which is to be attended by officials and experts from 70 nations and help influence the international conference on climate change to be hosted by Copenhagen, Denmark in December, Remonde said.
Because of the vital role that it plays, the area has become a top priority for marine conservation through the Coral Triangle Initiative (CTI), described as the world’s largest marine conservation program.
Initiated by Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, the CTI aims to help safeguard the marine and coastal resources of the area.
Among others, the CTI is working to establish a network of marine protected areas, which are carefully selected to allow for regulated human development and exploitation of natural resources to protect species and habitats.
Getting a big boost in the undertaking during a conference held in Manila in 2008 was the pledge of the US Agency for International Development (USAID) for $40 million to promote the aims of the CTI.
The reasons are not hard to find.
Coral reefs are among the world’s most diverse and productive ecosystems which have earned them the title of “rainforests of the seas.” They shelter fish and other forms of marine life and help to protect shorelines against erosion.
Scientists have warned that the world’s coral reefs, already facing several threats to their health because of all kinds of human disturbances, have also started feeling the adverse impact of climate change.
In this light, the need to protect and preserve the Coral Triangle even becomes more urgent, according marine biologists.
The triangle is home to over 600 reef-building coral species, or 75 percent of all species known to science and more than 3,000 species of reef fish.
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[...] Malacanang press statement said President Arroyo made the call in her speech Friday at the ongoing World Ocean Conference (WOC) being hosted by the city of Manado in Sulawesi province, [...]