GEF commits $63 million to help preserve Coral Triangle

ISLAMABAD : The Global Environment Facility (GEF) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) are joining together to support the preservation of Asia’s Coral Triangle, with the GEF committing $63 million to fund conservation of this area known as “the Amazon of the seas.”
The GEF funds will cover activities to preserve the region’s coastal and marine ecosystems and develop measures to help the environmentally rich area adapt to climate change, said an ADB press release received here on Tuesday.
Under ADB’s leadership, the GEF contribution will catalyze at least
$425 million of co-financing for the Coral Triangle Initiative (CTI) to introduce
sustainable fisheries management and conserve coral ecosystems while reducing poverty.
“This initiative brings together for the first time all the partners needed to mobilize action in the countries of Southeast Asia and the Pacific,” says Monique Barbut, GEF Chief Executive and Chairperson.
“The sustainable management of these resources is crucial to ensure
that an adequate supply of food exists to sustain millions of people living along
the coastlines,” Barbut added.
CTI was launched in December 2007 to foster management, conservation, and adaptation to climate change for the region.
The initiative has brought together governments, international agencies, nongovernmental agencies and the private sector for the purpose of protecting this environmentally important region.
ADB is the lead agency managing contributions and programs for CTI,
with the governments of the United States, Australia and Finland already offering
substantial support, the press release added.