Mr. Yuliadi, Secretary of the Directorate General of Capture Fisheries of the Indonesian MMAF, Mr. Cesar J. Dacruz, Secretary General of the Timor Leste MAF, and Mr. Stephen Rudgard, FAOR in Indonesia at the opening of the meeting

The Governments of Indonesia and Timor-Leste met in Jakarta over three days to launch a new project on “Enabling Transboundary Cooperation for Sustainable Management of the Indonesian Seas”, in collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

Covering the Indonesian Sea Large Marine Ecosystem (ISLME), the two Governments are collaborating to ensure the conservation and sustainable management of marine and fisheries resources, ensuring ecosystem productivity towards improved food security and livelihoods for local people dependent on marine and fisheries in both countries.

The ISLME covers an approximate total of 2.13 million square kilometres with 98% within Indonesia’s territorial waters, and approximately 2% located within the territorial waters of Timor Leste.
Approximately 185 million people live in the ISLME region, and they are highly dependent on coastal and marine industries including fisheries, aquaculture, oil and gas production, transportation, and tourism.

The project brings together the two Governments and a range of national, regional and international organizations to address complicated transboundary issues related to management of marine systems and resources, including the development of ecosystem approaches to fisheries management and aquaculture.

“This regional event has been an important opportunity for the principal stakeholders to learn more about the project, allow them to share their experiences and good practices, and enabled them to provide their insights for consideration by the project team,“ said FAO Representative in Indonesia and Timor-Leste, Stephen Rudgard.

The direction of the project was approved at the meeting the Regional Steering Committee, which endorsed the work plan for the first year. The Global Environment Facility (GEF) is contributing US$ 4 million to support the project for the period of 4 years.

In Indonesia, the two leading Ministries are the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries (KKP) and Ministry of Environment and Forestry (KLHK) are ensuring that the project addresses their priorities such as Illegal Unreported Unregulated (IUU) fishing.

The project will enable collaboration so that the globally-significant biodiversity in the ISLME remains available now and for future generations.