On September 5th, 2024, CTC co-organized a side event titled “Bridging the Gap: Regional Platforms and Partnerships to Strengthen Capacity Across the Coral Triangle”, held during the 8th IUCN Regional Conservation Forum in Bangkok, Thailand. The event, which was co-organized by the Coral Triangle Initiative on Coral Reefs, Fisheries and Food Security (CTI-CFF), IUCN, GIZ SOMACORE Project, and WWF Coral Triangle Program brought together experts to discuss strategies for enhancing human capital across the region. The focus was on developing the skills and capacities needed for sustainable management of marine resources in the Coral Triangle which plays a crucial role in global conservation efforts towards the goal of protecting 30% of the world’s oceans by 2030.

The event drew attention to the CTI-CFF Regional Plan of Action 2021-2030 (RPoA 2.0), which underscores the need to build competencies across sectors. Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) staff, fisheries managers, local communities, and government agencies all require specialized training in areas such as stakeholder engagement, sustainable fisheries management and marine spatial planning. Expanding this expertise is seen as essential to ensuring the long-term sustainability of the Coral Triangle’s marine ecosystems.

Speakers at the event delved into various aspects of capacity-building and the critical role of partnerships in driving conservation success. Christovel Rotinsulu, Deputy Director for Program Services at the CTI-CFF Regional Secretariat, highlighted how regional cooperation is essential to protecting and sustaining the Coral Triangle.  James Hardcastle, Head of the Protected and Conserved Areas Team at IUCN, presented the SOMACORE project funded by GIZ, which enhances management of marine ecosystems across regional, national, and transboundary levels in the Coral Triangle.

Further contributions came from Rili Djohani, Executive Director of the Coral Triangle Center, who shared strategies for building capacity in marine conservation, emphasizing the need for a coordinated regional approach. Dr. Olivier Chassot, Senior Project Coordinator at IUCN and Amehr Hakim, Coordinator for MPAs at the Indonesian Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries, discussed the IUCN Green List Standard, focusing on improving MPA management effectiveness and exploring new conservation financing mechanisms in Indonesia such as the Coral Bond initiative.  Marie Fischborn, Senior Manager of Knowledge Management at IUCN, added insights into how knowledge-sharing platforms like IUCN Panorama can support the management of marine resources in the region.

Moderated by Maeve Nightingale, Senior Programme Officer at IUCN Asia’s Regional Coastal and Marine Programme, the event encouraged lively discussions on how to strengthen human capital and leverage innovative tools to enhance sustainable marine management. Overall, the event reinforced the urgency of fostering interdisciplinary skills and cross-sectoral collaboration to ensure the resilience of the Coral Triangle’s ecosystems, a region vital to global marine biodiversity.