As the implementing partner of the Coral Reef Rehabilitation and Management Program-Coral Triangle Initiative (COREMAP-CTI), CTC completed a series of meetings with relevant stakeholders, from the provincial to village levels, in early July 2021. The coordination and community meetings aimed to introduce the project to the locals, as well as to synchronize its main programs with the prioritized development activities of the local government.

The kick-off meeting at local level was held in Klungkung District on June 30, 2021. The meeting brought together 39 representatives of various relevant agencies in the Bali Provincial Government and Klungkung District Government, as well as some technical units under the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries. During this event, all participants appreciated and supported the COREMAP-CTI project as it was considered beneficial for the marine conservation and economic recovery for the local community in the Nusa Penida marine protected area (MPA) as its target location. Additional meetings then took place in Nusa Penida on July 2- 3, 2021, which specifically involved representatives of the local community

who had already contributed to the rehabilitation program for coral reefs and mangrove forests. The community gatherings at the sub-district and village levels also succeeded in collecting support from traditional village assemblies, community surveillance groups (Pokmaswas), and other local community-based organizations for marine conservation.

The COREMAP-CTI Grant Package 4 project in the Nusa Penida MPA is sponsored by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Indonesia Climate Change Trust Fund (ICCTF), as well the Ministry of National Development Planning of the Republic of Indonesia/National Development Planning Agency (Ministry of PPN/Bappenas). This project started in April 2021 and will end in September 2022. The main objective is to help the MPA technical unit (UPTD) Bali achieve 80% of the blue level related to the effectiveness of the management of Nusa Penida (EKKP3K – or recently revised to EVIKA as a new MPA evaluation tool). Managing the MPA more effectively will require the development of ecosystem-based resource management and promoting more sustainable marine livelihoods.

There are three main activities of the COREMAP-CTI project. The first is the Coral Reef and Mangrove Rehabilitation initative (CRMR) in the Nusa Penida MPA, which will restore and rehabilitate at least 20% of the damaged mangrove forests and 5% of the damaged coral reefs. Secondly, the project will support capacity-building for key community groups, such as the Pokmaswas, to improve compliance with zoning regulations in the MPA, and seaweed farmer groups to improve harvesting and marketing of small-scale productions. Additionally, the project will also implement an ecotourism scheme and build supporting facilities for mangrove tourism. Finally, the project will raise public awareness through various campaign activities on law enforcement, Marine Protected Areas (MCA), and the endangered, threatened and protected (ETP) marine species in the Nusa Penida MPA.

Photos by Yoga Putra/CTC