About the project

The UNDP/GEF Project, Sulu-Celebes Sea Sustainable Fisheries Management Project, aims to improve the condition of fisheries and their habitats in the Sulu-Celebes Sea (Sulu-Sulawesi Marine Ecoregion) through an integrated, collaborative and participatory management at the local, national and tri-national levels. The goal of the project is to have an economically and ecologically sustainable marine fisheries in the region 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 five expected outcomes of the Project are:

1. Achievement of a regional consensus on trans-boundary priorities and their immediate and root causes by updating an earlier Trans-boundary Diagnostic Analysis (TDA) for the region and focusing on unsustainable exploitation of fisheries.
2. Agreement on regional and national legal, policy and institutional reforms for improved fisheries management through the formulation of a Strategic Action Program (SAP), which will build on the existing Conservation Plan for the Sulu-Sulawesi Marine Ecoregion.
3. 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.
4. Increased fish stocks of small pelagics through the implementation of best fisheries management practices in demonstration sites.
5. Capture, application and dissemination of knowledge, lessons and best practices within the region and other LMEs.

The project began in June 2010 with the Project Management Office (PMO) located at the National Fisheries Research and Development Institute (NFRDI) -Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), Quezon City, Philippines. The PMO are staffed by the Regional Project Manager, a Senior Fisheries Expert, a Finance & Administrative Officer, with additional staff seconded from the Government of the Philippines through the NFRDI.