The Coral Triangle Initiative (CTI) Business Summit in Manila, Philippines, kicks off on 19 January, with the World Wildlife Fund taking the lead as hosts of the meeting.
The summit evolved from the Manado, Indonesia, meeting held last year, with President Gloria Arroyo of the Philippines a strong force in bringing it to Manila this year.
The Coral Triangle is a 1.3-million-acre area in the Indian and Pacific oceans covering the waters of Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Solomon Islands and Timor Leste.
Co-hosts of this year’s meeting are the Philippine government’s Natural Resources and Environment Department and Department of Agriculture. Dr. Lida Pet-Soede, head of the WWF Coral Triangle Program, talked to SeafoodSource about the summit’s objectives and ways in which the WWF sees future partnerships.
“We are looking to engage private sector businesses in protection programs rather than funding,” she explained. “In this way, companies who join our partnership programs are clearly displaying best practice and corporate responsibility to their customers. Delegates are coming from some 30 organizations and include representatives of the commercial seafood industry, national government departments, NGOs, tourist boards and even marketing companies.”
According to Pet-Soede, marketing agencies are now being asked by their clients to look into ways in which they can be seen as acting responsibly with regard to the environment. There is now a far greater consumer awareness with respect to sustainability issues, which is often reflected in sales.
President Arroyo will make the keynote statement at the summit’s opening ceremony, and on the second day a few companies will announce their commitment to the CTI program. Participation in the summit has been deliberately kept in check to increase networking and business partnership opportunities.
