Dili, February 10, 2015–Yesterday, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) partnered with the Coral Triangle Center (CTC) in Bali and the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) International Marine Protected Area Capacity Building Program to launch a six-day training workshop for officials of the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries (MAF) to improve the protection of the country’s coastal and marine resources.

 

From February 9-14, twenty-five participants from MAF; the Ministry of Higher Education; the Ministry of Commerce, Industry, and Environment; Haburas Foundation; and the National University of Timor-Leste will participate in training courses entitled Marine Protected Area Fundamentals for Marine Protected Area Managers and Key Marine Protected Area Stakeholders. These courses, which use a ‘learning-by-doing’ technique, will support the participants in establishing, managing, and monitoring marine protected areas (MPAs). The training workshop builds on the accomplishments of MAF at the Nino Konis Santana National Park and prepares participants to ensure that two proposed marine protected area sites, Batugade and Atauro, will also improve protection of the coastal and marine resources.

 

During the training’s official launch ceremony on February 9, USAID Mission Director John Seong stated, “In Timor-Leste, USAID supported the protection of coral reefs by working with local communities in the protected area of Nino Konis Santana National Park to improve conservation and management of their marine and coastal resources. This work has focused on developing and applying successful co-management approaches, which draw on international practices tailored specifically to Timor-Leste … Working with our partners like the Coral Triangle Center and NOAA, we are committed to providing capacity development support to both existing and new MPAs to address the impacts on coral reefs, fisheries, and food security to ensure a healthy future for Timor-Leste.”

 

The training supports Timor-Leste in fulfilling its commitments to the Coral Triangle Initiative on Coral Reefs, Fisheries, and Food Security (CTI-CFF), a multilateral partnership of six countries that aims to protect the world’s epicenter of marine biodiversity—the Coral Triangle. Under the CTI-CFF, Timor-Leste committed to effectively managing its marine protected areas, in line with the standards of the Coral Triangle Marine Protected Area System, a network of effectively managed marine protected areas in the Coral Triangle. Other member countries include Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, and the Solomon Islands.

 

“This training helps Timor-Leste protect its oceans and fisheries, benefitting not only the country’s ecosystem but also the communities dependent on the sea for their livelihoods,” CTC Executive Director Rili Djohani noted.

 

“Following the training, participants will have a solid foundation in marine protected area science and management knowledge and possess a broader understanding and context for the range of responsibilities for managing marine protected areas and networks,” MAF Director General and CTI-CFF Focal Point Lourenco Fontes also noted. “This is very important in building the capacity of our staff to protect the country’s oceans and marine resources”

 

“After five years of providing support to marine protected areas in Timor-Leste through the U.S. Coral Triangle Initiative, NOAA is pleased to be continuing our work with Nino Konis Santana National Park, and the soon to be designated Batugade and Atauro MPAs. It is with great promise that we see Timor-Leste making a significant contribution to the protection of their coastal and marine resources and the CTI regional network of MPAs,” said Anne Walton NOAA International MPA Capacity Building Program Manager.

 

For more than five years, USAID has been building the capacity of marine protected area (MPA) managers as part of the Coral Triangle Initiative for Coral Reefs, Fisheries, and Food Security (CTI-CFF). Since 2014, under the grant from USAID, the Coral Triangle Center (CTC) has partnered with NOAA to provide MPA management training throughout the Coral Triangle countries. CTC determined that Timor-Leste would be an excellent training site due to its progress on expanding its MPA network and the need for expanded management capacity for its MPAs. The training objective is to make key staff well-versed in the suite of necessary skills, knowledge, and tools for effective management of existing and development of new MPAs to strengthen protection of coral reefs, fisheries and food security.