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Biz partners gather for coral conservation breakthroughs

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Hundreds of business, government and civil society leaders will come together for the Coral Triangle Initiative Regional Business Forum next week and take serious steps towards protecting the world's most diverse marine environment.

Clown Anemonefish (Amphiprion percula), New Britain, Papua New Guinea. [WWF]

Held from October 10 – 11 in Kuala Lumpur, the forum will broadly address Innovative Solutions for Sustainable Resources Tomorrow in the 6 Coral Triangle nations - Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Solomon Islands, and Timor Leste.

"Strong public and private partnerships are vital for a healthy Coral Triangle, a marine environment on which over 120 million people depend," said Dr Lida Pet-Soede, leader of the Coral Triangle Initiative.

"Long term solutions that support responsible fishing practices, such as the Shangri-La Tanjung Aru Resort's partnership with the local community to protect endangered dugongs in Sabah, Malaysia, for example, are the kind of forward-looking solutions that the Coral Triangle needs," Dr. Pet-Soede added.

Hosted by the Government of Malaysia with support from USAID's US CTI Support Program and WWF, the forum will host over 200 representatives from international businesses such as Google USA, Nokia, Shangri-La Hotels, TESCO chain stores, Frost & Sullivan, and Wind Wheel Tree Turbines.

A complete programme and list of participating speakers is available on the forum's website, http://www.ctibusinessforum2011.com.

Coral Triangle governments are expected to announce new public-private partnerships in multiple business sectors including ecotourism, commercial fisheries, and energy management.