TEMPO.CO, Manado - Marta Lotang, leader of a non-governmental organization called CBO Cinta Persahabatan in Alor, East Nusa Tenggara province, was one of six women marine resources activists honored by the newly-launched CTI-CFF Women Leaders Forum in Manado, North Sulawesi on Monday, May 12, 2014.
The grassroots women leaders are from six Asia-Pacific countries -- Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua Nugini, the Philippines, Solomon Islands and Timor Leste -- members of the regional marine resources initiative known as the Coral Triangle Initiative on Coral Reefs, Fisheries and Food Security (CTI-CFF), a multilateral partnership to safeguard marine and coastal resources of the Coral Triangle region.
Marta Lotang and her organization in Alor carries out awareness-raising activities among local fishermen to protect coral reefs and encourages local law enforcers to pursue cases against those who use dynamite and other unsustainable methods of fishing. She has succeeded in getting communities in Alor to care for their marine resources and strengthen their livelihoods by income generating activities such as improving the capacity of women selling fish and mobilizing communities' assets as their source of capital.
"This forum will hopefully play a big role as a peer-learning network for women who are paying key leadership roles in sustaining the marine resources of the Coral Triangle region, strengthen our women leaders capacity, and equip them with the necessary tools to expand and move further with their activities in the coming years," said Linda Gumelar, Indonesian Women's Empowerment and Child Protection Minister Linda Gumelar, in a written message to the Forum.
The Forum serves as a platform to build the capacity of women from the Coral Triangle to take leadership role in preserving and sustaining the region's marine and coastal resources. It was a side event of the 2014 World Coral Reef Conference, attended by 36 country-delegates comprising government officials, representatives from NGOs and the private sector. Also launched at the event was the CTI Women Leaders Database.
YULI ISMARTONO
