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The tropical and semi-enclosed Arafura and Timor Seas (ATS) are shared by Australia, Indonesia, Timor-Leste and Papua New Guinea (PNG). The ATS region is extremely rich in living and non-living marine resources, including major fisheries and oil and gas reserves. The ATS region is located at the intersection of the two major Large Marine Ecosystems (LMEs), the Indonesian Seas to the north and northern Australian waters to the south, and is also an integral part of the Coral Triangle zone considered to have the highest marine biodiversity in the world. The ATS region exhibits high productivity that sustains both small- and large-scale fisheries that provide livelihoods for millions of people in the region.
The gross-annual production from commercial, artisanal and subsistence fisheries in the ATS region is very difficult to estimate, given existing gaps in data collection and analysis and the extremely high level of illegal, unregulated and unreported (IUU) fishing in the region, involving small and large fleets from several countries to the north of Indonesia. While a major threat is foreign fishing there is also a substantial amount of Indonesian unregulated activity in Indonesian and Australian waters. In addition to unsustainable and IUU fishing, Arafura and Timor Seas face significant threats from a number of other pressures including the potential for increased incidence of natural threats associated with climate change as well as rapidly expanding coastal populations, increasing urbanization, high levels of poverty and limited economic opportunities which can increase exploitative pressures on natural resources, degradation of coastal habitats, marine pollution from both land- and sea-based sources, and aquatic invasive species.
The threats facing the ATS region are transboundary in nature and can only be effectively addressed through multi-lateral cooperation between all four littoral nations. The rationale for the GEF Full Scale Project (FSP) is therefore the need for the littoral nations to work cooperatively to sustain the ATS shared living resources, conserve the biota of the seas and coasts, and improve sustainable socio-economic conditions and opportunities for coastal peoples. It is also based on the need for international assistance and catalytic financing, recognizing the significant development challenges and resource limitations facing Timor Leste, which is classified as both a Least Developed Country (LDC) and a Small Island Developing State (SIDS), as well as those facing Indonesia and additionally PNG, which is also designated as a SIDS.
