Coral Triangle Initiative | Secretariat

He said the centre would eventually become the central point for the operation of the planned National Oceanography Data Centre.

"The data centre shall serve as a strategic coordinating platform and also as a catalyst to form strategic alliances with various marine centres of excellence at national and regional level and worldwide," he said at the opening of the Coral Triangle Initiative's 4th Senior Officials Meeting here, Monday night.

Ongkili said the centre was important as Malaysia was within a region rich in biodiversity and marine resources.

He also said Malaysia needed to implement the Coral Triangle Initiative programmes based on national priorities and in line with national policies to implement good governance and management of the resources.

"We need to stop the unsustainable fishing practices, destruction of the corals and the desecration of endangered species.

"We need to reduce haphazard coastal and marine planning practices and instead employ adaptive measures to reduce impacts of multi-hazards caused by climate change and the rise of sea level," he said.

Ongkili also hoped the findings from the Prime Scientific Sailing Expedition in the Malaysian territorial waters off the Sulu and Sulawesi seas from June 18 to Aug 2 this year would be stored and shared for further analysis and decision-making via research publications and multimedia.

"The recent expedition went through a good portion of this marine area and marine park areas and has found many untapped resources, new marine species that could create many spin-offs.

"Through the regional transfer of technology, knowledge and innovations, we aim at strengthening our human resource capacity in the field of marine-related industries that could contribute to the innovation-driven economy," he said. – Daily Express October 20, 2009