Conservation International Sulu-Sulawesi Seascape website

The Sulu-Sulawesi Seascape is home to the world’s richest marine environments, spanning around 900,000 square kilometers of the waters between Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines. With new species being discovered all the time, it hosts unmatched biodiversity that provides food, shelter, income, recreation and climate regulation to approximately 40 million people living along its coasts and to the rest of the world, sustaining life and ensuring living seas for generations. The Seascape is home to coral reefs, seagrass meadows and mangrove forests, which support fishes, sea turtles, dolphins, whales, sharks and rays.

However, marine species and habitats continue to be threatened by overfishing, pollution, destructive fishing practices, coastal development and sedimentation. In addition, livelihoods are threatened as commercial fishing increases and fish stocks decline, leaving fewer fish for local consumption. These threats put tremendous pressure on the Seascape’s fragile marine ecosystems.

Strategy for Achieving Results

• Implement the MPA management plan and ensure MPA effectiveness by monitoring, increasing local capacity and implementing climate change adaptation strategies
• Ensure the necessary governance structure to sustain the MPA networks through policy development and continued support to regional management groups
• Establish fishery management areas to improve food security by managing critical fish stocks sustainably
• Enhance management and enforcement at all levels by creating sustainable financing mechanisms and forging conservation agreements

With support from this initiative, 45 new MPAs have been created in the Sulu-Sulawesi Seascape, plus 7 more have been expanded.