On May 15, 2009, the leaders of Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Solomon Islands, and Timor Leste met at a six-country summit in Manado, Indonesia and signed the declaration launching the Coral Triangle Initiative and endorsed the Regional Plan of Action (RPoA) for the Coral Triangle Initiative on Coral Reefs, Fisheries and Food Security (CTI-CFF).

The RPoA is an ambitious ten-year plan that “captures the joint priorities and commitments of all of our governments, and reflects extensive inputs over the past 15 months from many partners.” It is will “serve as a rallying point for collective and parallel action at regional, national, and sub-national levels. This will take many forms.  The RPoA will address five overall goals:  (i) priority seascapes; (ii) ecosystem approach to managing fisheries and other marine resources; (iii) marine protected areas; (iv) climate change adaptation; and (v) threatened species.