The Coral Triangle is the most species-rich coastal and marine environment in the world, and its resources support the livelihoods of the region’s people through fisheries, ecotourism, and other coastal economic activity. Weak resource management together with climate change impacts, such as rising sea levels, are threatening the sustainability of these resources, with potentially damaging economic, environmental, and social results.

Together with UQ’s Centre for Marine Studies, UniQuest designed the A$13.2 million ADBⁱ regional technical assistance project to strengthen coastal and marine resource management in the Coral Triangle of the Pacific Phase I. The project design addressed major issues such as biodiversity management; integrated watershed and coastal resources or “ridge to reef” management; and climate change adaptation.

UniQuest’s design of Phase II focused on building stakeholder ownership, which, in turn, will ensure the likelihood of success. Phase II will focus on community-based natural resource management, piloting integrated coastal and marine management in pilot sites, and ensure that enough data is available for managing and monitoring coastal and marine resources.