Beginning this year, CTC is embarking on a new collaborative project in the Nusa Penida MPA called the “Coral Reef Rehabilitation and Management Program – Coral Triangle Initiative (COREMAP–CTI).  The project is funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), Indonesia Climate Change Trust Fund (ICCTF), Ministry of National Development Planning/National Development Planning Agency (Kemen PPN/Bappenas) and will be implemented in partnership with the Bali Province Government and the Klungkung District Government.  The project will run from April 2021 until September 2022. The kick-off event of the COREMAP-CTI project was held at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Nusa Dua, Bali, on March 29, 2021 and was attended by the Secretary of the Directorate General of Marine Spatial Management Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries (Setditjen PRL MMAF) of the Republic of Indonesia, the Secretary of Bappenas, the Assistant for Government and People’s Welfare of the Regional Secretariat of Bali Province, the Head of the Bali Province Regional Development Planning Agency (Bappeda), the Executive Director of CTC, and other representatives from ministries, local governments, and program implementing partners.

The overarching goal of the project is to assist the Nusa Penida MPA Management Unit to achieve an 80% blue level of the management effectiveness framework (EKKP3K – recently revised into EVIKA as the new evaluation tool). Improvement of the management effectiveness status will be pursued through the development of ecosystem-based resources management and the promotion of sustainable marine livelihoods.

There will be three main activities covered by the project. The first one is Coral Reef and Mangrove Rehabilitation (CRMR) in the Nusa Penida MPA, which supports a cost-benefit analysis and valuation of ecosystem services on ecosystem rehabilitation. The CRMR is intended to restore and rehabilitate at least 20% of the degraded mangrove areas and 5% of degraded coral reef areas through appropriate reef restoration and rehabilitation methods.

Secondly, the project will provide essential capacity-building and support to local community groups such as the surveillance group to improve compliance with the MPA zoning regulations and the local seaweed farmers group to improve cultivation and marketing of small-scale seaweed production to support local livelihoods. Lastly, the project will implement an eco-tourism scheme and establish related infrastructure to further boost community-based mangrove tourism activities.

Finally, the project also aims to raise community awareness through various public campaigns on MPA law enforcement, marine conservation areas, and endangered, threatened, and protected species in the Nusa Penida MPA.

Executive Director of CTC Rili Djohani said the launch of the COREMAP-CTI collaboration project during the COVID-19 pandemic produced good momentum because it provides support for the protection of MPAs, especially coral reefs and mangroves, and will simultaneously involve communities who are experiencing the impact of the pandemic. CTC is committed to support all conservation efforts, including capacity-building and outreach, to the MPA Management Unit and communities in the Nusa Penida MPA.

Read more about this event media coverage here

Photos by CTC