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• Current Issues for Palau
• Programme Response

The physical, chemical and biological characteristics of the ocean and island ecosystems of Palau create both opportunities and constraints to its development. The recognition of these ecosystems as components of the Earth system - a dynamic, complex blend of environmental, economic and social factors interacting in a myriad of ways - is absolutely fundamental to the understanding of sustainable development.

The overall goal of the Ocean and Islands Programme, to improve scientific knowledge of ocean and island ecosystems for the sustainable management of natural resources, demonstrates a clear role in ecosystem management, with interventions focused on mapping and monitoring the physical and chemical attributes of ecosystems, and providing resource use solutions and assessments to its Island States membership. The Ocean and Islands Programme also provides assistance and support towards the development of sound policies and regulations, and meeting obligations under various treaties and agreements.

Outputs under the ‘resource use solutions’ and ‘monitoring the physical and chemical change in ecosystems’ components of the Programme can address many of Palau’s issues that relate to sustainable development. These issues will need to be considered by the Palau Government when they develop their National Sustainable Development Strategy and related plan of action.

Current Issues for Palau

The following environmental, economic and social issues and concerns that can be addressed under the Oceans and Islands Programme, either wholly or in part, have been cited in the various assessment reports of Palau:

• Lack of financial resources to develop data collection, management, analysis, and archiving through the PALARIS, national GIS programme, which aims to assist in the decision-making process and monitoring of sustainable development activities.
• Deficient long-term monitoring of environmental changes.
• Insufficient data collection mechanisms for national planning purposes.
• Lack of coordination of legislative frameworks to address sustainable development planning and management.
• Need for a holistic approach to the preservation of marine, terrestrial and cultural resources from over-harvesting and unsustainable development practices.
• Minimal financial, technical, and human resources to address sustainable development issues adequately.
• Need for a regional integrated approach to coastal management and oceans.
• Need for assistance in defining and effectively managing Palau’s exclusive economic zones and extended continental shelf areas.
• Coral bleaching and coastal erosion.
• Sedimentation and siltation of marine habitats due to road development, forest burning, upland clearing, coral dredging, land development, ship groundings, and water pollution.
• Growing number of introduced invasive species that damage crops and natural habitats

Programme Response

The following regional projects cover all SOPAC member countries including the Nauru Islands. These are components of the Ocean and Islands Programme, designed to address Nauru’s sustainable development issues.

• The establishment and maintenance of a regional deep-sea minerals database.
• The Certificate of Earth Science and Marine Geology (CESMG) builds the capacity of island member nationals in the areas of applied geoscience and forms the basis, for some, to pursue higher education in degree courses in geoscience.
• SOPAC’s monitoring of the physical and chemical change in ecosystems of island member countries embraces the philosophy of Global Ocean Observing Systems (GOOS), which advocates public access to long-term oceanographic data and information. The recently established regional alliance of GOOS, the Pacific Islands – Global Ocean Observing System (PI-GOOS) , seeks to ensure that relevant applications for ocean observations and resulting products from global, regional and national long-term observing systems are developed and made available to Pacific Island end-users in order that they can make better decisions for sustainable development.
• The South Pacific Sea Level and Climate Monitoring Project provides tide gauge and other data, and related products, collected over the past fifteen years. SOPAC provides an important maintenance and operations role for project equipment installations.
• SOPAC also offers assistance in the area of Ocean Governance, by offering professional development programmes for strengthening legal and negotiation skills of advocates for maritime boundary delimitation , the implementation of Part XIII of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) through the provision of technical skills and policy advice , and the coordination of issues related to the law of the sea in their member country regions.