In 2009, wildlife photographer duo Jürgen and Stella Chiu-Freund embarked on an expedition to six countries in the coral triangle, exploring the world's center of marine biodiversity to document its diverse species, people and cultures. Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and Timor Leste were visited one by one to capture the problems and even threats in the region, as well as the efforts of the parties to preserve one of the world's living marine heritages.

A collection of masterpieces from the photojournalism expedition was presented in the discussion and sharing session "The Coral Triangle Photo Expedition: A Journey of A Lifetime" in Kuningan, South Jakarta, on Friday (30/11). The more than 60 visitors who packed the room could not stop chuckling as Jürgen and Stella displayed more than 20 photos that captured the marine life, people and culture of the coral triangle region.

"Indonesia is so beautiful and rich in biodiversity, yet so vulnerable. We hope that the portraits of life that we capture can inspire young people, because young people can make a difference," Stella added.

The Coral Triangle region is an area of approximately six million square kilometers of land and sea encompassing six countries and is home to the most diverse marine life in the world, as well as human communities and important economic resources. Moreover, 76% of the world's coral reef species, 6 out of 7 sea turtle species, and around 2,228 reef fish species call this region home.

WWF is proud to have collaborated with Jürgen and Stella Chiu-Freund to document through a masterpiece collection of photojournalism expeditions to increase understanding of ocean conditions in the Coral Triangle region, particularly in Indonesia as the heart of the Coral Triangle.

In the previous session, Marine Science and Knowledge Management, Amkieltiela also explained about the expeditions that WWF-Indonesia has conducted since 2014. Alor, East Flores, Yamdena, Southwest Maluku, and Kei Islands are some of the locations that have been explored in an expedition to monitor the ecological impact and condition of the marine ecosystem. The expedition is one of the tactical efforts to assess follow-up conservation policies and strategies with partners in order to provide sustainable ecological and economic benefits.

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