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This spring, the Polynesian voyaging canoe Hōkūle‛a embarked on an epic trans-Pacific journey from Hawai‛i to Japan, stopping en route in the islands of Micronesia. The journey was organized by the Polynesian Voyaging Society.
Joining the crew on the leg from Yap to Palau were Nature Conservancy of Hawai‛i staff members Pauline Sato, Emily Fielding and Eric Co. Their mission: to learn from the successful conservation strategies Palau is employing to protect its marine resources.
For more than 2,000 years, the people of Palau counted on ocean and forest resources for survival. Conservation was woven into their traditional belief system, linking cultural preservation with resource protection. If a resource became scarce due to climactic changes or over-harvesting a moratorium, called bul, was declared by the village chiefs.
Following World War II and the adoption of western management practices, Palau’s bul system faded. Not surprisingly, so did the valuable fish stocks and forest resources.
The Republic of Palau is an archipelago of 343 islands in the Micronesian region of the Pacific Ocean, 600 miles east of the Philippines. Named one of the “Seven Underwater Wonders of the World” by marine scientists and dive journalists, Palau supports hundreds of species of hard and soft coral, more than 1,400 species of reef fish and such endangered and vulnerable species as dugong (sea cows), saltwater crocodiles, hawksbill and green sea turtles.
Today, Palau depends on its extraordinary marine resources to support a fledgling economy. But like other developing countries, it has realized that economic growth – especially growth based on fisheries and tourism – can push the limits of its fisheries beyond sustainable levels.
Recognizing the need for local conservation leadership, The Nature Conservancy helped establish the Palau Conservation Society (PCS), the nation’s first non-governmental environmental organization. PCS and the Conservancy encouraged Palau’s chiefs to reinstate the age-old bul tradition, allowing fish stocks to reproduce and replenish the waters.
Today, the tiny island nation of less than 20,000 people is at the forefront of a Pacific movement to protect its marine resources and the cultures and economies that depend on them. >>
Read the full story
Follow the Hōkūle‛a voyage and find out how Palauan communities are actively caring for their ocean resources.
Nature picture credits (top to bottom, left to right): © Jez O'Hare (aerial of Rock Islands, Palau); © Ka'iulani Murphy/Polynesian Voyaging Society (war canoes in Palau); © Kanako Uchida/PVS(Conservancy staff, crew on Hōkūle‛a).
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