Scientists from the Philippines’ National Fisheries Research and Development Institute (NFRDI) have developed a DNA-based technique that can uniquely identify marine and aquatic species. This method has broad applications, including monitoring population distribution, biodiversity, and the collection and trade of species.

In a press release dated June 17, The Nature Conservancy (TNC), a CTI-CFF Development Partner, announced it will embark on a three-year initiative called “Mapping Ocean Wealth.”

The announcement was made in line with TNC’s participation at the “Our Ocean” Conference hosted by the U.S. State Department on June 16-17 in Washington, D.C.

A study by the German development agency GIZ has lauded the CTI-CFF National Coordination Committee in the Philippines (NCC-Philippines) for its effectiveness in assembling and coordinating with a variety of stakeholders and organizations.

Such effectiveness gives NCC-Philippines a high potential “to bring in people whose positions can influence national decision-making” and contribute toward achieving their goals, particularly with respect to the CTI-CFF National Plan of Action (NPOA), the study noted, urging the body to harness “this potential continually and sustainably.”

Following public outcry over reported killings of endangered sea turtles inside the proposed Tun Mustapha Park (TMP) three months ago, authorities are hoping the Park will be gazetted as scheduled in 2015.

“The public’s reaction to recent reports on the turtle killings highlighted the dire need to gazette TMP. People see and support this, and I am quite relieved that this is the case,” said TMP Park Manager Augustine Binson in a recent email interview.

(Bangkok, Thailand) – The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center (SEAFDEC) on June 16 agreed to collaborate on designing and implementing activities to enhance food security and biodiversity conservation in Asia and the Pacific.

Indonesia is advocating for the participation of other Pacific countries in the CTI-CFF.

This was announced on June 19 by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono during a state visit to Fiji.

The President visited Fiji to attend the 2nd Summit of the Pacific Islands Development Forum (PIDF), where he served as the keynote speaker.

PIDF is a Fijian initiative that brings together NGOs, governments, and businesses to discuss sustainable development in the region. It was established last year by Fijian Interim Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama.

Claimant states in the South China Sea need not look far to see how countries in the region can work together for the greater good over a large swath of waters devoid of maritime boundaries, an Indonesian diplomat said in a recent commentary, citing the CTI-CFF as one of at least two “concrete and excellent state practices in Southeast Asia.”

Described as “a strictly personal view,” the commentary was published by the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, a graduate school of Nanyang Technological University in Singapore.

A growing number of scientists are predicting a major El Niño weather event this year, which could wreak havoc across South America and Asia, causing droughts, floods, and other extreme weather events that impact industry and farming. But the effects on the world’s coral reefs could be even more disastrous.

Indonesia and the Philippines will serve as the pilot markets for a new initiative that aims to make fishing more sustainable and improve the lives of fishermen and their communities by developing practical solutions using the power of commercially viable mobile technology.

This was announced at the “Our Ocean” Conference hosted on June 16-17 by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry in Washington, DC.

(Washington, D.C.) – The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) on June 17 announced new coastal programs valued at more than US$170 million, including support to the Secretariat of the CTI-CFF.

The announcement took place at the “Our Ocean” Conference hosted by Secretary of State John Kerry on June 16–17. The coastal programs are intended to benefit coastal communities in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, and the Pacific, which include some of the most vulnerable, poor, and marginalized populations.