At the 13th ASEAN Summit in Singapore that ended on 22 November, all the heads of states of the 10 members of ASEAN signed a declaration recognising the need to pursue sustainable developmen and recognising the phenomenon of global warming.

The declaration also stated 29 points of environmental protection, conservation and climate change goals, of which one dealt in part with the protection of coral reefs:

27. To promote conservation and sustainable management of key ecosystems, including forest, coastal, and marine habitats, such as coral reefs, through initiatives, in particular, the “Heart of Borneo”, “Forestry Eleven forum”, and the “Coral Triangle Initiative on Coral Reefs, Fisheries, and Food Security”;

The Coral Triangle Initiative (CTI) is a programme created by the WWF to protect an area some 5.7 million square kilometres that reaches from Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Fiji and Northern Australia. It is home to 75 percent of coral species known to science.

Hmmm… I just noticed that the east coast of Malaysia and the coasts of Thailand aren’t included in the triangle. I wonder why.