CTI Southeast Asia validates proposed priority projects with Malaysian NCC

PRIMEX Project Director Elvira Ablaza together with Team Leader and Project Management Specialist
Guillermo L. Morales and other five PRIMEX consultants attended the two-day inception workshop for the ADB/GEF-funded Coastal and Marine Resources Management in the Coral Triangle-Southeast Asia (CTI Southeast Asia) at Promenade Hotel, Kota Kinabalu in Sabah, Malaysia on 4-5 September 2012.

Aside from presenting the scope of work, outputs, and expected outcomes, the Project Management Consultants validated with the Malaysian National Coordinating Committee the proposed priority subprojects which will be implemented under CTI Southeast Asia. These subprojects address the five goals identified in the Regional Plan of Action and in the Malaysian National Plan of Action:

  1. Priority seascapes and marine protected areas (MPAs) – profiling of marine ecosystem of Malaysia in the Sulu-Sulawesi Marine Ecoregion (SSME); establishing a sustainable palm oil industry and marine industries in the Silam and Darvel Bay; capacity building on ecosystem approach to fisheries management (EAFM) and MPA management;
  2. EAFM and threatened species protection – developing alternative livelihood in Kota Marudu – Pitas District; community-based ecotourism in three sites; and addressing illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing of coral reefs; and
  3. Climate change adaptation – project scoping, vulnerability assessment and special studies, capacity building on using vulnerability assessment tools, assessment and Implementation of climate change adaptation measures, and monitoring and evaluation.

Ms. Annabelle Trinidad, payment for ecosystem services specialist and PRIMEX Team Leader for the Regional Cooperation on Knowledge Management, Policy, and Institutional Support to the Coral Triangle Initiative, also conducted a session on sustainable financing and how to use the costing template for the identified sub projects.

Fifty three representatives participated in the workshop including ADB, the Project Management Consultants, Ministry of Science, Technology, and Innovation, Ministry of Agriculture, Department of Fisheries Sabah, Department of Fisheries Malaysia, Department of Conservation Sabah,  National Oceanography Directorate, Sabah State Economic Planning Unit, Sabah Parks, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Universiti Utara Malaysia, Palm Oil Industrial Cluster Sabah and World Wildlife Fund  Sabah.

The other project management consultants present were Ms. Beth Baikan (Deputy Team Leader for Malaysia), Mr. Jessie Arnuco (Financial Management/ Procurement and Contract Specialist), Dr. Rosa Perez (Climate Change Specialist), Mr. James Berdach (Coastal Marine Resources Management Specialist), Dr. Lope Calanog (Sustainable Finance Expert/Resource Economist), Ms. Nurul Fatan (Malaysian Public Awareness Specialist), and Ms. Lydia Napitupulu (Resource Economist for the ADB Knowledge Management project). Dr. Maripaz Perez and Mr. Len Garces from the WorldFish Center also attended the Inception Workshop.