VISION. CI envisions a world in which the needs and aspirations of all people are forever in balance with the richness and diversity of life on earth.
MISSION. CI believes that the Earth’s natural heritage must be maintained if future generations are to thrive spiritually, culturally and economically. Our mission is to conserve the Earth’s living heritage -- our global diversity -- and demonstrate that human societies are able to live harmoniously with nature.
Conservation International is one of the world’s largest non-government organization working on biodiversity conservation. The organization focuses on conserving terrestrial, marine and freshwater areas with the highest biodiversity, but those that are the most threatened by human activities called biodiversity hotspots as well as those that are the most intact called high biodiversity wilderness areas.
Within these hotspots and wilderness areas, CI’s efforts are geared towards avoiding the extinction of globally threatened and geographically concentrated species. To avoid extinction of those species, sites which are critical to their survival are identified and protected. These sites are called key biodiversity areas or KBAs. CI pursues protection of these KBAs through the consolidation of biodiversity corridors.
CI currently works in 44 countries, including the Philippines and Indonesia where Sulu-Sulawesi Seascape is located.
|
The Sulu-Celebes Large Marine Ecosystem, more commonly known as the Sulu-Sulawesi Seascape, is an area of about 900,000 km² that includes two large seas, the Sulu and Sulawesi Seas, located amidst three nations of the Southeast Asia region: Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines. The Seascape is characterized by complex oceanography and a highly varied biophysical character that contributes to its exceptionally rich marine biodiversity. This rich legacy is, however, under threat from illegal fishing (e.g., cyanide and blast fishing), overexploitation of marine resources, population pressure, and pollution.
This project has set out to strategically address these issues in four Marine Biodiversity Conservation Corridors: Verde Passage, Cagayan Ridge, Balabac Strait , and the Tri-national Sea Turtle Conservation Corridor, which involves Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines.
To address these issues, CI-Philippines and CI-Indonesia have convened a broad range of partners from the academic community, other non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and government agencies to develop a detailed implementation plan for seascape-wide projects. To date, CI-P is working with at least 30 groups coming from the aforementioned mix of partners. CI and its partners are currently working on the following targets:
- Improve management effectiveness of existing marine protected areas (MPAs);
- Gather the bio-physical, socio-economic, and institutional data that will serve as the foundation for establishing additional MPAs and MPA networks in the four Marine Biodiversity Conservation Corridors;
- Determine the necessary levels and approaches to support enforcement in the Corridors;
- Quantify, in monetary terms, the cost of ecological disturbances in order to provide an empirical basis for the computation of fines/ penalties that correspond to the severity of the impact of each violation; and
- Improve stakeholders’ awareness of the ecological and economic importance of MPAs and MPA networks and their roles in marine conservation, management and enforcement. To augment these efforts, CI-Philippines and CI-Indonesia will take on specific CI-led activities that include integrating the results of MPA studies, developing socio-economic support strategies, developing and implementing a seascape-wide information, education and communication strategy, developing appropriate policies and establishing support from local communities and authorities.
The Sulu-Sulawesi Seascape foresees a seven-year implementation timeframe such that by 2012, CI and an alliance of partners are implementing a sustainable seascape strategy through effective conservation interventions within critical marine biodiversity corridors designed to conserve the full range of marine biodiversity in the Sulu-Sulawesi Seascape covering an area of approximately 94 million hectares.
The initial three-year Sulu-Sulawesi Seascape will employ a two-pronged approach, building a strong foundation for a long-term conservation program as well as implementing necessary actions to address immediate threats to biodiversity. Immediate actions include providing support to enforcement activities, strengthening marine protected areas, and developing and implementing communication strategies. Long-term actions will include focusing on conducting the scientific research that underpins all other project activities; building capacity of individual and institutional stakeholders, encouraging and facilitating policy reforms that support marine conservation; and developing mechanisms to ensure that our successes are financially sustainable.
The generous support provided by The Walton Family Foundation will leverage additional resources from other partners with parallel interests in the Marine Biodiversity Conservation Corridors .
|
