Studies Reveal Threats to Fisheries and Food Security in Timor-Leste and Solomon Islands

Two studies conducted by the US CTI Support Program through the Coral Triangle Support Partnership in collaboration with WorldFish Center highlight the need for extensive planning as a critical step towards ensuring long-term food security and sustainable livelihoods for the people of both Timor-Leste and Solomon Islands.  The study Mapping Fisheries Dependence and Aquaculture Development in Timor-Leste suggests aquaculture as a potential alternative livelihood for the people in coastal areas of Timor-Leste, for whom climate change now presents very serious threats.  The report entitled, Planning the Use of Fish for Food Security in Solomon Islands explores the long-term impacts of unsustainable fisheries in Solomon Islands. The study identifies various threats to food security, and recommends that the government of Solomon Islands invest in fisheries productivity, aquaculture enterprises, and alternative livelihood generation to address these. Both of these studies make a valuable contribution to the Coral Triangle Initiative as they shed light on country-specific sustainability issues which, unaddressed, will impact the biodiversity and people across the entire Coral Triangle region. Both studies will inform the implementation of the two countries commitments to the CTI-CFF Regional Plan of Action and their respective CTI National Plans of Action. Download the  Timor-Leste study from the resources section here and the Solomon Islands study here.

Source: US CTI Support Program Monthly Update November 2011