A total of 62 senior officials and representatives from the six Coral Triangle countries (CT6) (Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, and Timor-Leste) and their major development partners (ADB, USAID, UNDP, and international NGOs) converged at the ADB Headquarters in Manila on 15-16 March 2011 for the Regional CTI Knowledge Management (KM) Needs Assessment and State of the Coral Triangle Report (SCTR) Workshop.
The Workshop marked the culmination of the second phase (needs assessment phase) of the 30-month regional technical assistance project on Regional Cooperation in KM, Policy, and Institutional Support to the Coral Triangle Initiative (CTI) (TA 7307-REG), which commenced in May 2010.
The Workshop discussed and validated the PRIMEX Consultant Team’s Needs Assessment Report and the proposed outline and timelines for the preparation of the SCTR. At the panel discussion on the needs assessment report, the CT6 representatives concurred with the findings and recommendations contained in the PRIMEX report and congratulated the Team for the comprehensive and well-written report.
During the discussions on the SCTR, the countries expressed their request for technical and financial support from ADB and the US CTI to enable them to prepare their country reports in a timely manner. It was agreed that the country SCTRs must be completed by the end of this year to enable the consolidation and integration into the regional SCTR in 2012 before the completion of the TA.
A few weeks before the Workshop, a smaller group from the CT6 and the PRIMEX Team met in Tagaytay City, Philippines for a Needs Assessment and Detailed Implementation Planning Workshop to present the draft needs assessment report for validation by CT6 representatives prior to its finalization.
Another major output of the regional workshop was the finalization of the State of the Coral Triangle Report (SCTR), a comprehensive situationer depicting systematic analyses of the Triangle’s biodiversity status, and social environment.