UNDP Project Document Governments of Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines United Nations Development Programme Implementation of the Sulu-Celebes Sea Sustainable Fisheries Management Project Brief Description The Sulu-Celebes Sea (SCS) is a Large Marine Ecosystem in the tropical seas of Asia bounded by three countries – Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines. Being at the heart of the most bio-diverse marine area in the world, the SCS is also a very rich fishing ground for large and small pelagic as well as bay and coral reef fishes, providing livelihoods to the coastal inhabitants and food for the entire region and beyond. The fishery resources, however, have declined due to various threats, including overexploitation, habitat and community modification and global climate change. The goal of the Project is to have an economically and ecologically sustainable marine fisheries in the SCS, for the benefit of communities who are dependent on these resources for livelihood and for the global community who benefit in the conservation of highly diverse marine ecosystems and its ecosystems services The objective of the Project is to improve the condition of fisheries and their habitats in the SCS through an integrated, collaborative and participatory management at the local, national and tri-national levels. The three countries and other stakeholders, including NGOs, have worked together to develop the Sulu-Sulawesi Marine Ecoregion Conservation Plan and formally put in place a regional institutional mechanism to implement the plan. The Project activities, outcomes and outputs will build on these strong regional and national initiatives. There are five major outcomes of the Project. The first is the achievement of a regional consensus on trans-boundary priorities and their immediate and root causes by updating an earlier Trans-boundary Diagnostic Analysis for the SCS and focusing on unsustainable exploitation of fisheries. The second outcome is agreement on regional measures for improved fisheries management through coordination in the formulation of a Strategic Action Program, which will build on the existing Ecoregion Conservation Plan. The third outcome is the strengthening of institutions and introduction of reforms to catalyze implementation of policies on reducing overfishing and improving fisheries management. The primary target for institutional strengthening is the Sulu-Sulawesi Marine Ecoregion Tri-National Committee and its Sub-Committees, in particular the Sub-Committee on Sustainable Fisheries. The fourth outcome is increased fish stocks of small pelagics through the implementation of best fisheries management practices in demonstration sites. The fifth outcome is the capture, application and dissemination of knowledge, lessons and best practices within the SCS and other LMEs. 1 Table of Contents SECTION I: ELABORATION OF THE NARRATIVE ........................................................................................... 5 PART I: SITUATION ANALYSIS .................................................................................................................................... 5 PART II: STRATEGY ................................................................................................................................................... 33 PART III: MANAGEMENT ARRANGEMENTS ............................................................................................................... 64 PART IV: MONITORING AND EVALUATION PLAN AND BUDGET ............................................................................... 68 PART V: LEGAL CONTEXT ....................................................................................................................................... 72 SECTION II: GEF INCREMENT AND STRATEGIC RESULTS FRAMEWORK ......................................... 75 PART I: INCREMENTAL COST AND PROJECT FINANCING ....................................................................................... 75 PART II: LOGICAL FRAMEWORK ANALYSIS ............................................................................................................ 79 SECTION III: TOTAL BUDGET AND WORK PLAN ......................................................................................... 93 SECTION IV: ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ................................................................................................... 101 PART I: OTHER AGREEMENTS ................................................................................................................................ 101 PART II: TERMS OF REFERENCE FOR KEY PROJECT STAFF AND KEY SUBCONTRACTS FUNDED BY GEF .............. 102 PART III: STAKEHOLDER INVOLVEMENT PLAN ......................................................................................... 106 SIGNATURE PAGE .................................................................................................................................................. 138 ANNEX 1 ..................................................................................................................................................................... 140 ANNEX 2 ..................................................................................................................................................................... 146 ANNEX 3 ..................................................................................................................................................................... 147 ANNEX 4 ..................................................................................................................................................................... 150 ANNEX 5 ..................................................................................................................................................................... 152 ANNEX 6 ..................................................................................................................................................................... 163 2 List of Acronyms ADB Asian Development Bank ASEAN Association of Southeast Asian Nations BFAR Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (Philippines) BIMP-EAGA Brunei-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East Asia Growth Area CI Conservation International COBSEA Coordinating Body on the Seas of East Asia CPUE Catch per Unit Effort CTI Coral Triangle Initiative CTI CFFC Coral Triangle Initiative on Coral Reefs, Fisheries and Food Securities and Adaptation to Climate Change CT6 Coral Triangle (6 countries) DOF Department of Fisheries, Sabah ECP Ecoregion Conservation Plan for SSME FAO Food and Agriculture Organisation, United Nations GEF Global Environment Facility GIWA Global International Waters Assessment IMP Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines LME Large Marine Ecosystem MMAF Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries (Indonesia) NPOA National Program of Action for CT countries PEMSEA Partnerships in Environmental Management for the Seas of East Asia PMU Project Management Unit PPG Project Preparation Grant RPOA Regional Program of Action for CT countries RPM Regional Program Manager SAP Strategic Action Program SEAFDEC Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center SCS Sulu-Celebes Sea Large Marine Ecosystem SCS-SFM Sulu-Celebes Sea Sustainable Fisheries Management Project SSME Sulu-Sulawesi Marine Ecoregion TDA Transboundary Diagnostic Analysis TNC The Nature Conservancy 3 UNDP United Nations Development Program USAID United States Agency for International Development WWF World Wide Fund for Nature 4 SECTION I: ELABORATION OF THE NARRATIVE PART I: Situation Analysis Context and global significance Sulu-Celebes Sea Large Marine Ecosystem 1. The Sulu-Celebes Sea1 (SCS) is a Large Marine Ecosystem2 (LME) in the tropical seas of Asia, containing a geographically distinct assemblage of natural communities that share a large number of common species, dynamics, and conditions3. The SCS is a semi-enclosed LME with an area of 900,000 km2, and is composed of two marine basins – the Sulu Sea and the Celebes- Sulawesi Sea. The two marine basins are separated by the Tawi-Tawi Ridge but are inter- connected by the movement of marine waters4. The Pacific Ocean flows into Sulu Sea in northern Mindanao and between Sangihe-Talaud Archipelago, North Sulawesi. Surface waters from one basin overflow to the other every two weeks and through-flows through the Tawi- Tawi-Sulu Archipelago occur during monsoons. An internal wave moves back and forth from the Tubbataha Ridge towards the east coast of Palawan Island. 2. The dynamic movement of marine waters in the Sulu-Celebes Sea circulates rich nutrients and larval stages of many marine species across political boundaries. The upwelling along the northwestern edge of the Tawi-Tawi Ridge enriches surface waters that are exchanged between Sulu and Sulawesi Seas and are circulated around by monsoonal winds. The circulation of waters explain the export of larvae from a spawning ground to distant settlement habitats, e.g., from Tubbataha Reef to Palawan Island and Sabah, north Borneo, from Surigao to Bohol Sea. 3. The direction of transport of nutrients and larval stages varies with the monsoons5. During the northeast monsoon, the waters from the Pacific Ocean enter Sulu Sea north of Mindanao and divide into two – one moving northward towards Mindoro Island and exiting to the South China Sea, and the other moving southward and clock-wise to Tawi-Tawi, east coast of Sabah, and exiting through Balabac Strait to the South China Sea. In Sulawesi Sea, the marine waters enter Makassar