US CTI Support Program Integrator Quarterly Report: Oct – Dec 2012

Despite increased investment and efforts by governments and organizations to improve management, the condition of the resources continues to decline. Coral reefs and fisheries, the source of invaluable ecological and socioeconomic benefits, are being subjected to increasing threats from population growth in coastal areas, overfishing, and changes in oceanographic conditions, including increase in sea surface temperature and ocean acidification, resulting from climate change. Regional commitment and cooperation is expected to catalyze, expand, and sustain national and local-level implementation efforts through the CTI Regional Plan of Action. Within the broad framework of the CTI Regional Plan of Action, the six countries have developed National Plans of Action, and are working together to identify and implement those actions that require regional cooperation. CTI thus encompasses a distinctively regional approach, building on country-driven priorities and actions. The US CTI Support Program represents the US Government's commitment to support the efforts of the six Coral Triangle countries (CT6) Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Solomon Islands, and Timor-Leste. The Program is composed of team members from USAID, the US State Department, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and projects funded by these entities. USAID Asia serves as the program lead and provides overall management of the program in coordination with USAID Washington D.C. and other key USAID missions in the Philippines, Indonesia, and Timor-Leste, and USAID Pacific as well as the U.S. State Department. As part of the US commitment to CTI, in September 2008 USAID Asia launched the US CTI Support Program Integrator (PI) as an overall support mechanism for USAID's CTI-related activities. The PI assists the US CTI Support Program by coordinating consolidated planning and reporting, facilitating adaptive management, and providing strategic technical support to the region. The overall objective of the PI is to facilitate a unified USG response to the CTI and regional exchange among all CTI stakeholders to assess status and needs and share lessons learned. The PI supports USAID in ensuring effective coordination strategies and mechanisms are in place to maximize technical impacts and facilitate the development and communication of a unified USG contribution to the CTI that is technically sound, culturally appropriate, and gender-sensitive. The four results statement under the US CTI Support Program Results Framework focus program activities towards the following goals: Regional and national platforms strengthened to catalyze and sustain integrated marine and coastal management in the Coral Triangle; Ecosystem approach to fisheries management improved; Marine protected area management improved in Coral Triangle countries; and Improved capacity to adapt to climate change in Coral Triangle countries. The PI's new reporting structure presents PI's coordination and administrative support under Program Support Results section and describes its technical results against the Program Results Framework and its four related Results and subsets of Intermediate Results. The PI ensures the development of effective coordination strategies and mechanisms maximizes impact and facilitates the development and communication of a unified USG contribution to the CTI that is technically sound, culturally appropriate, and gender-sensitive. The PI met with the CTI Secretariat and Malaysia CTI COM Chair Secretariat on behalf of US CTI and Partners to plan objectives, assistance, and activities for the region. The meeting aimed to strengthen regional and national platforms to catalyze and sustain integrated marine and coastal management in the Coral Triangle. The PI also facilitated the development of a unified USG contribution to the CTI, ensuring that it is technically sound, culturally appropriate, and gender-sensitive. The PI's Program Support and Integration activities are outlined under four task areas consistent with the original USAID Task Order. Task 1: Coordination of US CTI Support Program and USG Activities in the Region; Task 2: Technical Support to the CTI; Task 3: Capacity Building and Training; and Task 4: Monitoring and Evaluation. The PI ensures that effective coordination strategies and mechanisms are in place to maximize technical impacts and facilitate the development and communication of a unified USG contribution to the CTI. The PI's technical results against the Program Results Framework and its four related Results and subsets of Intermediate Results are presented in the report. The results show progress made towards achieving the intermediate results under the Program, including: Result 1. Regional and national platforms strengthened to catalyze and sustain integrated marine and coastal management in the Coral Triangle; Result 2. Ecosystems approach to fisheries management improved in CT countries; Result 3. Marine protected area management improved in CT countries; and Result 4. Capacity to adapt to climate change improved in CT countries. The report also presents progress made towards achieving the Program's goals, including the strengthening of regional and national platforms, improvement of ecosystem approach to fisheries management, improvement of marine protected area management, and improvement of capacity to adapt to climate change in Coral Triangle countries. The PI's activities and results demonstrate its commitment to supporting the efforts of the six Coral Triangle countries to safeguard coastal and