'CORAL TRIANGLE CENTRE' LAUNCHED
Added to website: 04 March 2008
On 18th February 2008 the Tojo Una-Una “Coral Triangle Centre ” (CTC) was officially established as a major local initiative in response to the 6-Country Coral Triangle Initiative declared in September 2007. This grass-roots concept born in 2007 received support from key local and national figures and the formal declaration was made by Tojo Una-Una District Head Drs Damsik Ladjalani in the presence of the Minister for Underdeveloped Areas and representatives from 5 other Ministries including the Ministry for Marine Affaires and Fisheries and the Ministry for Tourism, the Governors and key officials of all three Provinces and most Districts surrounding the Gulf of Tomini, the Head of the Togean National Park Authority, and many key non-government stakeholders.
In the centre of the Gulf of Tomini at the heart of the “Coral Triangle”, the CTC has an operational base in Wakai, which is in the Togean Islands, Tojo Una-Una District, Central Sulawesi Province. The CTC will develop a local, national and international network to support it’s work in building local capacity for sustainable management of marine and coastal resources and promoting the conservation of coral reef ecosystems through a wide range of approaches. The CTC will serve as an information, training and research centre and be capable of hosting domestic and overseas scientists and volunteers, with the development of “science-based tourism” as one key objective.
The CTC team can be contacted on coraltrianglecentre@yahoo.com, and a webpage is currently under construction.
