Maritime Institute of Malaysia (MIMA)

"Security in the 21st Century"

28 June 2010
Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia

Concerns about human security amidst global environmental change was the focus of a roundtable organised by the Institute of Occidental Studies (IKON), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) and the Centre for Global Sustainability Studies (CGSS), Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) in cooperation with the Malaysian Social Science Association (PSSM). The roundtable discussion was attended by academicians, ambassadors and researchers. MIMA was represented by Ms. Amy Aai from the Centre for Ocean Law and Policy (OLAP) and Ms. Evelyn Teh from Centre for Coastal and Marine Environment (CMER).

Currently, the emerging schools of thought go beyond merely emphasising the degradation of the natural environment to identifying direct linkages on how it will inevitably affect human survivability. The roundtable provided a platform for experts, researchers, and decision makers to engage in a comprehensive dialogue that discussed the various dimensions of human security and the necessary action plans to mitigate the risk of disasters.

Collaboration for Coral Reef Conservation in a Changing Climate

20-24 June 2010: Phuket, Thailand

This important forum was organised in cooperation with numerous other organisations and supporters, and hosted by the Marine Biodiversity Research Group at the Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Ramkhamhaeng University in Phuket, Thailand. The symposium theme 'Collaboration for Coral Reef Conservation in a Changing Climate' reflected major topics of global significance and challenges that are increasingly confronting us.

A comprehensive programme was designed to explore a variety of results from researchers in the Asia-Pacific, a region significant for its unique natural resources and socio-economic diversity.  It houses over 50% of the world's marine species. Coral reefs are also among the most important marine ecosystems in this region, supporting the high human populations here. Most people depend on the reefs as a source of their livelihood, mainly from fisheries and tourism. Nevertheless, this has associated problems and threats causing the destruction of reefs. These threats need to be addressed quickly, besides also taking into consideration the possible impacts of climate change to the ecosystems in this region. Through this forum, coral reef scientists and managers in the region as well as from other countries came together to share their experiences and discuss on the way forward to address these concerns.

Overall, participants from around 30 countries attended the symposium. There were 12 prominent keynote speeches, 23 mini-symposia, four workshops, six student competition sessions, a poster session, and special meetings during the symposium.

17-20 June 2010: Phuket, Thailand

This was the first event organised to discuss the technical content of the Coral Triangle Initiative (CTI) and Regional Plan of Action (RPOA) since the CTI Summit held in Manado in 2009. On 15 May 2009, the leaders of Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Solomon Islands, and Timor Leste met at a six-country summit in Manado, Indonesia and signed the declaration launching the Coral Triangle Initiative and endorsed the Regional Plan of Action for the CTI on Coral Reefs, Fisheries and Food Security. The RPOA addresses five overall goals: (i) priority seascapes, (ii) ecosystem approach to managing fisheries and other marine resources, (iii) marine protected areas, (iv) climate change adaptation, and (v) threatened species.

The main objectives of this workshop were to achieve the regional actions listed below, as part of Target 1 of Goal 3 on Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). The workshop focused on the design and operation of MPA networks and systems, as well as the transfer of consistent core tools for improving management effectiveness to on-site managers of MPAs and networks in the coral triangle countries.