34
July 2008
The Government of the Republic of Indonesia, the
Government of Malaysia, and the Government of the
Republic of the Philippines, hereinafter referred to
singularly as “the Party” and collectively as “the Parties”;
RECOGNISING that:
- the states exercise sovereign rights over their natural
resources and that co-operation is important in the
conservation and sustainable development of these
resources in respect of areas beyond national jurisdiction
and of mutual interest, in line with the provisions of the
Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) including the
Jakarta Mandate of 1995;
- the relevant provisions of the United Nations Convention
on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) of 1982, particularly
Part IX thereof relating to enclosed and semi-enclosed
seas encourages co-operation among regional states,
and other interested states in marine environment
protection and marine scientifi c research;
- the outcome of the World Summit on Sustainable
Development (WSSD), in particular, the Johannesburg
Declaration on Sustainable Development and Paragraph
29 of the Plan of Implementation states that eff ective
coordination and co-operation at global and regional
levels, among others, are needed to ensure sustainable
development of the oceans;
- the Sulu-Sulawesi Marine Ecoregion (SSME) is signifi cant
as a globally unique center of biodiversity with vibrant
ecological integrity, including all species assemblages,
Memorandum of Understanding between the Government of
the Republic of Indonesia and
the Government of Malaysia and
the Government of the Republic of the Philippines
on the Adoption of the Conservation Plan for the
Sulu-Sulawesi Marine Ecoregion
communities, habitats and ecological processes;
- the SSME is a highly productive ecoregion that can
sustainably and equitably provide for the socioeconomic
and cultural needs of the human communities
dependent on it;
- the shared resources of SSME is a common concern and
the conservation of sustainable development of said
resources and the benefi ts are mutually shared among
the Parties;
- the ecoregion approach to conservation facilitates the
realisation of the four fundamental goals of biodiversity
conservation, which are representation, sustainability of
ecological processes, viability of species, and resiliency.
ACKNOWLEDGING that:
- ecoregion approach off ers opportunities to achieve
these goals mainly because of comprehensive joint
management at the ecoregional levels and through
complementary action at the national levels; more
systematic and coherent actions responsive to the
requirements of ecological rather than political
boundaries; availability of resources for conservation
from stakeholders at various levels; and, higher degree
of effi
ciency and eff ectiveness due to the matching of
resources for conservation with the type and degree of
needs;
- the Conservation Plan for the Sulu-Sulawesi Marine
Ecoregion, hereinafter referred to as the Ecoregion
35
Tropical Coasts
Conservation Plan (ECP), addresses the ecological
integrity and sustainability of resources;
- the ECP was formulated by the respective stakeholders
of the SSME from the three participating nations;
NOTING that the eff ective implementation of the ECP of
the SSME, under the concept of large-scale conservation
and sustainable development, can only be realised through
collaborative management among concerned government
agencies and other stakeholders in the bordering states;
AFFIRMING their intention to establish mutually benefi cial
cooperation on the conservation and sustainable
management of biodiversity in the Sulu-Sulawesi Marine
Ecoregion, thereby enhancing friendly relations among the
Parties;
HAVE AGREED as follows:
ARTICLE I
DEFINITION
For the purpose of this Memorandum of Understanding:
1. “Ecoregion” means a relatively large unit of land or
water that contains a distinct assemblage of natural
communities sharing a large majority of species,
dynamics, and environmental conditions, and
consequently functions eff ectively as a conservation
unit.
2. “Ecoregion Conservation Plan (ECP)” means a plan
of action that spells out the short-term (10-15 years)
goals and actions to be taken as steps in realising the
Biodiversity Vision, which is the long term (50 years)
goal. The ECP includes the ecoregional action plan and
the national action plans of Indonesia, Malaysia and the
Philippines, that are consistent with and are aligned to
national plans and programmes as well as each country’s
international agreements and commitments.
3. ”Sulu-Sulawesi Marine Ecoregion” means an ecoregion,
covering an area of approximately a million square
kilometers, shared by Indonesia, Malaysia and the
Philippines and includes the Sulu Sea and Sulawesi Sea.
ARTICLE II
ECOREGION CONSERVATION PLAN (ECP)
The Parties, subject to the terms of this Memorandum of
Understanding and the laws, national policies, rules and
regulations of each country, shall undertake necessary
measures to formally adopt the ECP and its incorporation
into their respective National Plans.
ARTICLE III
AREAS OF CO-OPERATION
1. The Parties shall, subject to their respective national
policies, laws, rules and regulations from time to time in
force governing the subject matter in their respective
countries, endeavour to take necessary steps to
encourage, facilitate and promote co-operation in the
areas identifi ed in the ECP which are as follows:
a. establishment of management strategies and
co-ordinated institutions for eff ective ecoregion
conservation;
b. establishment of a functional integrated network
of priority conservation areas to ensure ecological
integrity;
c. development of sustainable livelihood systems
that support marine and coastal conservation
across the ecoregion;
d. shaping of economic development compatible
with biodiversity conservation;
e. enhancement of understanding of biodiversity
resources and factors aff ecting them to form basis
for management decisions;
f. development of communication, education and
outreach programmes and strategies to motivate
people to take conservation action;
g. development of sustainable fi nancing mechanism
to support cost of conservation and resource
management;
h. building and enhancement of capacity of
stakeholders to eff ectively manage the
conservation of SSME;
i. implementation of coordinated protection of
threatened marine species to ensure maintenance
of viable populations and protection of critical
habitat; and
j. improvement of coastal, oceanic and other types of