Sustainability and Environmental issues in Palau

 

Climate Change contributes to Palau Environmental issues, rising sea level, coral bleaching, drought, destructive fishing practices like deep sea bottom trawling, unsustainable harvesting of shark for their fins and overexploitation of tuna stocks. Climate changes being a threat, new infrastructure development project incur a number of impacts during their construction. The effect of run-off from sedimentation poses one of the threats to water quality in the marine environment.


* Palau has implemented several sustainable programs and initiative to enable Palau to move forward with long term plans to create a sustainable Island.

o Former President, Tommy E. Remengesau called on his regional peers to join him in the Micronesia Challenge, which will conserve 30 percent of near shore coastal waters and 20 percent of forest land by 2020. Joining the initiative we Palau, the Federated State of Micronesia and Marshall Islands and the US territories of Guam and Northern Marianas Islands.

o Ban Shark Finning in Palau

o President Johnson Toribiong on September 2009, during the 64th regular Session of the United Nations General Assembly declared Palau’s 237,000 square miles of ocean as the World First Shark Sanctuary.

o Green Energy Micronesia (GEM) initiative is to generate 20 percent of power from renewable energy and achieving 30 percent energy efficiency by the year 2020. President Toribiong believes one of the solutions to climate change is to transition from the use of fossil fuel, which is a finite energy source, to renewable energy from the sun, wind and other sources.


* Palau has installed several Solar Panels at the National Airport, National Capitol Building, Department of Education, Solid Waste Recycling Center, National Development Bank of Palau, and Palau Energy Office. Government also installed several hundreds of solar light along the street of Koror (business area of Palau) and implemented a program to allow residents to exchange their light bulbs to fluorescent lights. So far, around 20,000 compact fluorescent lights have been distributed by the program.


o Green Revolution is another program initiated by President Toribiong. This initiative will increase local food production and at the same time open new employment for residents.

Palau, Micronesia’s Jellyfish Lake Gets A “Facelift”

 

 

One of the most unique attractions on the planet, Palau’s Jellyfish Lake recently upgraded its previously-rutted access trail with a smoother, more pedestrian-friendly concrete path/stairway.  

One of the great virtues of Jellyfish Lake is the remote, tropical hike between the Rock Islands entryway over an elevated pathway that leads visitors through a jungle-like environment into a “secret watering hole” full of tens of thousands of friendly, safe-to-swim-with jellyfish.

Because the previous trail was somewhat archaic, the Koror State Government saw the make improvements to the pathway for visitor safety and easier access.

“We see these improvements as an asset to one of the world’s most unique attractions,” comments Darin DeLeon, Managing Director of the Palau Visitor’s Authority.  “The intention was to improve upon the safety and access to one of our destination’s most popular sites, while maintaining the integrity of its natural, tropical ambience.”