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South Pacific

Mapping the Bounty of the Coral Triangle

The warm tropical waters of the Coral Triangle in the South Pacific cover a little over 1% of the Earth’s surface, yet are host to over three quarters of all recorded coral species and thousands of fish species. The staggering biological diversity of marine life is sustained by an equally diverse mix of habitats including river estuaries, mangrove forests, seagrass beds and coral reefs. The 6.8 million square kilometers of the Coral Triangle cover the waters around the eastern half of Indonesia, as well as the Philippines, Malaysia, Timor-Leste, Papua New Guinea, and the Solomon Islands.

Improving Solomon Islanders livelihoods and climate change resilience through mangrove ecosystem management

Mangrove ecosystems are critical to the economic needs and livelihoods of many coastal communities in Pacific region.  Mangroves provide an important source of food including fish, shells and fruit as well a source of timber for firewood and building materials.  In addition, mangrove ecosystems play an important role in protecting coastal villages from wind and waves.  Under the threat of climate change, maintaining healthy mangrove ecosystems will help coastal communities build resilience to the impacts of climate change.  Throughout the Pacific however there are increasing threats to mangroves including clearing for urban expansion and felling trees for firewood.

Adaptation Pathways: responding to climate change

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) through its Coral Triangle Initiative (CTI) regional technical assistance (RETA) program is providing technical assistance to five Pacific countries. Through one of its programs - "Strengthening coastal and marine resources management in the Coral Triangle of the Pacific (Phase II)" - they are seeking to improve the resilience of coastal and marine ecosystems in the CTI countries of Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Timor-Leste, as well as neighbouring Fiji and Vanuatu, in the face of multiple drivers of change, including climate change.

Assessing the Impacts of Natural Resource Management and Policy Research in Development Programs

After decades of stagnation, global investment in agricultural research in pursuit of poverty reduction is on the rise. Developed nations are again looking to the many dimensions of agriculture, including forestry and fisheries, to help meet development goals (particularly the Millennium Development Goals) and accelerate progress. But, with increasing investment, there is also an increasing focus on the need for better outcomes and greater impacts from those investments.
 

Partnerships

CGIAR is only one of many organizations engaged in aquatic agricultural systems. Other research, development and policy organizations spend hundreds of millions of dollars annually to improve the lives of people who depend upon these systems.

Our Research

CGIAR Research Program on Aquatic Agricultural Systems research is designed to improve the wellbeing of people dependent on aquatic agricultural systems.

Our Approach

The complexity and diversity of communities that rely on aquatic agricultural systems means that there can be no single blueprint solution to the challenges they face.

 

Where We Work

The CGIAR Research Program on Aquatic Agricultural Systems is initially focusing on three major types of Aquatic Agricultural Systems:

 

About Us

Developing inland aquaculture in Solomon Islands

Like other Pacific Island Countries and Territories (PICTs), Solomon Islands has a great reliance on fish for food and income. In a total population of just over half a million people, some 75% of Solomon Islanders are subsistence-oriented, small-holder farmers and fishers; and fish accounts for 73% of total expenditure on food that is sourced from animals.
 
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