The Indonesian Sea Large Marine Ecosystem (ISLME) sits at the heart of the Indonesian and Timor-Leste archipelagic waters, and is both a crossing point between the Indian and Pacific Oceans and a link between the other archipelagic seas and the seas of East and Southeast Asia. This makes the ISLME the region a centerpiece of many trans-boundary issues and challenges within the region. The project is designed to strengthen regional cooperation and support the effective and sustainable management of the ISLME. FAO with support from GEF funding recently has approved a USD 4 miliion project to to strengthen regional cooperation and support the effective and sustainable management of the Indonesian Sea Large Marine Ecosystem (ISLME). The ISLME project offers a vehicle for promoting more holistic, large-scale thinking about the management of shared and interconnected ecosystem resources across all boundaries within the LME (between Indonesian sub-national borders and between Indonesia and Timor-Leste). The project will play a catalytic role in the identification of transboundary concerns and assist Indonesia and Timor-Leste to restore and sustain coastal and marine fish stocks and associated biodiversity through the collaborative development and subsequent implementation of the Strategic Action Programme (SAP).