Media Release
Coral Triangle Instagram Contest Frames Plastic-Free Lifestyle Challenge for a Cleaner Ocean
18 May 2017, Manado, Indonesia – In conjunction with the Coral Triangle Day Celebration held every 9 June, WWF, the Coral Triangle Initiative on Coral Reefs, Fisheries and Food Security and development partners launched an Instagram photo contest today called ‘Say No To Plastic’. This social media contest which runs from 18 May to 9 June will not only encourage oceans lovers to be trigger-friendly, but to also take ocean-friendly actions as they frame the urgent problem of marine plastic pollution.
This contest aims for the public to zoom into the pointless consumption and use of single use plastic. Photos can be taken from anywhere in the world and portray single use plastic products as they are encountered in day to day life and how these harm our marine ecosystems. Using the hashtags #sayno2plastic and #coraltriangle, photos are to be posted on Instagram and will also need to demonstrate what the individuals are doing to reduce plastic waste. These photos can also be shared on Facebook or Twitter.
The Top 3 photographs will be selected by a panel of acclaimed photographers and environmental advocates including James Morgan and Tommy Schulz. Creative submitters stand to win attractive prizes which are: a 3 day 2 night dive holiday at Scuba Junkie Malaysia (1st prize), a 3 day 2 night break at Puri Dajuma Eco Resort in idyllic east Bali (2nd prize), a Chilly’s Bottle and more great prizes (3rd prize). Aside from these, the Top 5 photographs with the most ‘likes’ will receive a People’s Vote prize – A Coral Triangle coffee table book that features the story of ‘Amazon of the Seas’ with breath taking photos.
Through this Instagram contest, it is hoped that the public will not only click away, but help clean up the ocean by kicking their plastic habit. These simple actions impact more than 130 million living along the coasts of the 6 million square-kilometer marine area in the Coral Triangle. The Coral Triangle is the planet’s richest centre of marine life and coral diversity and spans across 6 countries in Southeast Asia and the Pacific: Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, and Timor-Leste.
Collective action to give up plastic is more critical than ever now as our ocean is drifting in mounds of plastic trash from our consumer items. Alarmingly, three of CT6 countries are in the top ten biggest marine polluters in the world (Jambeck et. al) with Indonesia (No.2 with 187.2 million tons); the Philippines (No.3 with 83.4 million tons); and Malaysia (No.8 with 22.9 million tons).
2017 marks the sixth year of the Coral Triangle Day celebration which has become a landmark regional event to celebrate World Oceans Day with one simple message: protect the ocean that sustains us all.
For more information on the #sayno2plastic Instagram contest, visit www.coraltriangleday.org/contest
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About CTI – CFF
The Coral Triangle Initiative on Coral Reefs, Fisheries, and Food Security (CTI-CFF) is a multilateral partnership of six member states working together to sustain extraordinary marine and coastal resources by addressing crucial issues such as food security, climate change and marine biodiversity.
At the Leader’s Summit in 2009, these governments agreed to adopt a 10-year CTI-CFF Regional Plan of Action (CTI RPOA) to safeguard the region’s marine and coastal biological resources. The RPOA has five goals: strengthening the management of seascapes, promoting an ecosystem approach to fisheries management, establishing and improving effective management of marine protected areas, improving coastal community resilience to climate change, and protecting threatened species.
CTI-CFF implements its works with the support of the following Development Partners: US Agency for International Development (USAID), Australian Government (Department of the Environment and Energy), Asian Development Bank (ADB), Global Environment Facility (GEF), Conservation International, The Nature Conservancy, World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), and Coral Triangle Center (CTC). Including with the collaborators: SPREP, SEAFDEC, and GIZ.
Media Contact: Andie Wibianto
Communication and Information Manager
CTI-CFF Regional Secretariat
www.coraltriangleinitiative.org
E: andiewibi@cticff.org
M: +62 856 765 3939
