The Coral Triangle, recognized as the global epicenter of marine biodiversity, provides critical ecosystem services that support food security, livelihoods, and climate resilience for millions of people. However, these marine and coastal ecosystems face increasing pressures from climate change and human activities, making coordinated, science-based, and community-centered action across national and regional levels essential.
With funding from the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Climate Action, Nature Conservation, and Nuclear Safety (BMUKN) through the International Climate Initiative (IKI), the SOMACORE Programme is supporting CTI-CFF political partners, governments, and communities to strengthen resilience across priority seascapes. SOMACORE focuses on scaling solutions that promote effective governance, equitable conservation, and sustainable management of coastal and marine biodiversity while sharing lessons learned from the Coral Triangle with global platforms.
In the Bismarck Solomon Seas, collaboration among Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and the Solomon Islands has advanced through sub-regional dialogues, joint governance mechanisms, and discussions to revitalize agreements like the 2006 tri-national Memorandum of Understanding on Western Pacific leatherback turtles. Marine Spatial Planning (MSP) is emphasized as a key tool for ecological connectivity, with planned learning exchanges and coordinated workplans. Community-led management is supported through Other Effective Area-based Conservation Measures (OECMs), and capacity-building initiatives strengthen locally managed marine areas, ecosystem-based fisheries management, and inclusive governance.
In the Lesser Sunda Seascape, cooperation between Indonesia and Timor-Leste is advancing equitable conservation across one of the Coral Triangle’s key marine corridors. Efforts include establishing and strengthening marine protected areas (MPAs) and locally managed marine areas (LMMAs), developing a Science Hub for policy-relevant research, and supporting community initiatives like sustainable livelihood grants, learning exchanges, and partner networks. These measures reinforce long-term stewardship and inclusive marine governance.
In the Sulu Sulawesi Seascape, SOMACORE supports trinational cooperation integrating science, community action, and policy development. Initiatives include citizen science programs for sea turtle monitoring, regional research collaboration, mapping women-led coastal enterprises, identifying potential OECMs, and rolling out marine spatial planning tools. These actions strengthen ecosystem-based management, habitat connectivity, and seascape-level governance to support sustainable fisheries, biodiversity conservation, and resilient coastal livelihoods.
SOMACORE also reinforces regional leadership and policy alignment by promoting the IUCN Green List as a globally recognized standard for effective and equitable management of MPAs, LMMAs, and OECMs, supporting measurable contributions to the 30×30 biodiversity targets. Beyond individual seascapes, the programme expands capacity-building, peer learning, and knowledge exchange through the CTI-CFF online Repository, the IUCN Green List community of practice, and global platforms like PANORAMA, enhancing replication and long-term effectiveness.
The outcomes of the Coral Triangle Senior Officials Meeting in December 2025 reflected the progress of these efforts, with over 130 senior officials endorsing the IUCN Green List as a common regional framework for MPAs, LMMAs, and OECMs across all six CTI-CFF countries. The meeting also formally recognized the Coral Triangle Expert Assessment Group for the IUCN Green List (EAGL) as the regional mechanism to assess conservation effectiveness. IUCN’s leadership in 2026 is expected to focus on the Green List, OECMs, PANORAMA Solutions, CTMPAS, CT Atlas, and sustainable financing, raising the global visibility of the Coral Triangle.
Looking ahead, SOMACORE will continue supporting the CTI-CFF Regional Plan of Action 2.0 through inclusive capacity-building, strengthened coordination among technical working groups, and assistance to national coordinating committees. Efforts will prioritize localized training, expanded access to knowledge, and increased participation of women, youth, and ethnic groups. By supporting area-based conservation, community-led management, and policy coherence, SOMACORE contributes to the Kunming–Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework Target 3 and broader global ocean and climate agendas.
