Coastal and Marine Resources Management in the Coral Triangle: Southeast Asia TA 7813-REG

Name of Client:
Asian Development Bank (ADB)

Countries:
Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines

Length of Consultancy Assignment:
Start Date: August 2012
Completion Date: December 2017

Detailed Narrative Description of Project:

RETA 7813 was conceived and approved by ADB in support of the Coral Triangle Initiative for Coral Reefs, Fisheries, and Food Security (CTI-CFF), a six-country initiative to address coastal and marine resources degradation, prevalence of poverty among coastal communities, and policy/institutional weaknesses in coastal and marine resources management (CMRM) in the Coral Triangle (CT) region.  The RETA was envisaged to have the following impact: increased resilience of coastal and marine ecosystems and human communities in the CT3. Its outcome was expected to be improved management of coastal and marine resources, especially those associated with coral reef ecosystems, in the SSME priority seascape within the CT. The RETA had three outputs: (i) Output 1: Policy and institutional frameworks for sustainable CMRM improved; (ii) Output 2: Ecosystem-based approach to CMRM pilot-tested; and (iii) Output 3: Effective project implementation established by ADB and the CT3 governments. ADB’s Southeast Asia Environment, Natural Resources, and Agriculture Division (SEER), was the executing agency (EA) for the RETA.

PRIMEX was engaged by ADB to provide project management support and technical advisory assistance to the three participating countries in project planning, implementation, and liaison with ADB and the CTI Regional Secretariat based in Jakarta. PRIMEX set up a Regional Project Management Office (RPMO) and the Philippine Project Management Unit (PMU) in its office premises, TIA and WorldFish Center set up PMUs in Jakarta, Indonesia and in Penang, Malaysia, respectively. A large number of activities under the three outputs and their respective sub-outputs were implemented by the participating national and local government agencies and partner organizations including academic and research institutions, NGOs, and local communities. PRIMEX’s work in this RETA contributed substantially to breakthroughs in transformative regional and national policies, empowered coastal communities in the adaptive management of their natural resources, and increased the resilience of coastal and marine habitats through the adoption of ecosystem-based fisheries and aquaculture management. Examples of relevant regional and national activities, which were designed and implemented by the PRIMEX Team under this project, are summarized below.