case studies undp: conservation society of pohnpei, federated states of micronesia
TRANSCRIPT
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7/27/2019 Case Studies UNDP: CONSERVATION SOCIETY OF POHNPEI, Federated States of Micronesia
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Equator Initiative Case StudiesLocal sustainable development solutions for people, nature, and resilient communities
Federated States of Micronesia
CONSERVATIONSOCIETY OF POHNPEI
Empowered live
Resilient nation
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UNDP EQUATOR INITIATIVE CASE STUDY SERIES
Local and indigenous communities across the world are advancing innovative sustainable development solutions that wo
or people and or nature. Few publications or case studies tell the ull story o how such initiatives evolve, the breadth
their impacts, or how they change over time. Fewer still have undertaken to tell these stories with community practition
themselves guiding the narrative.
To mark its 10-year anniversary, the Equator Initiative aims to ll this gap. The ollowing case study is one in a growing ser
that details the work o Equator Prize winners vetted and peer-reviewed best practices in community-based environmenconservation and sustainable livelihoods. These cases are intended to inspire the policy dialogue needed to take local succ
to scale, to improve the global knowledge base on local environment and development solutions, and to serve as models
replication. Case studies are best viewed and understood with reerence to The Power of Local Action: Lessons from 10 Years
the Equator Prize, a compendium o lessons learned and policy guidance that draws rom the case material.
Click on the map to visit the Equator Initiatives searchable case study database.
EditorsEditor-in-Chief: Joseph Corcoran
Managing Editor: Oliver HughesContributing Editors: Dearbhla Keegan, Matthew Konsa, Erin Lewis, Whitney Wilding
Contributing WritersEdayatu Abieodun Lamptey, Erin Atwell, Toni Blackman, Jonathan Clay, Joseph Corcoran, Larissa Currado, Sarah Gordon, Oliver Hughe
Wen-Juan Jiang, Sonal Kanabar, Dearbhla Keegan, Matthew Konsa, Rachael Lader, Patrick Lee, Erin Lewis, Jona Liebl, Mengning Ma,
Mary McGraw, Gabriele Orlandi, Brandon Payne, Juliana Quaresma, Peter Schecter, Martin Sommerschuh, Whitney Wilding, Luna Wu
DesignOliver Hughes, Dearbhla Keegan, Matthew Konsa, Amy Korngiebel, Kimberly Koserowski, Erin Lewis, John Mulqueen, Lorena de la Pa
Brandon Payne, Mariajos Satizbal G.
AcknowledgementsThe Equator Initiative acknowledges with gratitude the Conservation Society o Pohnpei, and in particular the guidance and inputs
Patterson Shed and Eugene Joseph. All photo credits courtesy o Conservation Society o Pohnpei. Maps courtesy o CIA World Factbo
and Wikipedia.
Suggested CitationUnited Nations Development Programme. 2012. Conservation Society of Pohnpei, Federated States of Micronesia. Equator Initiative C
Study Series. New York, NY.
http://equatorinitiative.org/images/stories/Power_of_Local_Action_Final_2013.pdfhttp://equatorinitiative.org/images/stories/Power_of_Local_Action_Final_2013.pdfhttp://equatorinitiative.org/images/stories/Power_of_Local_Action_Final_2013.pdfhttp://equatorinitiative.org/images/stories/Power_of_Local_Action_Final_2013.pdfhttp://equatorinitiative.org/index.php?option=com_winners&view=casestudysearch&Itemid=858 -
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PROJECT SUMMARYSince 1998, the Conservation Society o Pohnpei has workedto improve the ecological and social sustainability o anetwork o seven marine protected areas around the islando Pohnpei in the Federated States o Micronesia. Throughenvironmental education and biological monitoringprogrammes, the initiative has coordinated marineconservation eorts across Pohnpei, while encouraginga diverse suite o alternative livelihood activities or localcommunities to reduce human pressures on scarce marineresources. In recent years, the organization has supported
MPA sites to introduce innovative monitoring andenorcement systems that combine modern and traditionalapproaches.
The organization also operates an environmental educationprogram which reaches more than 8,000 students in 27schools across the island, has engaged in conservationo important terrestrial orests and watersheds, and haspartnered in initiatives to eradicate invasive species.
KEY FACTS
EQUATOR PRIZE WINNER: 2008
FOUNDED: 1998
LOCATION: Pohnpei island
BENEFICIARIES: Pohnpei Island communities
BIODIVERSITY: 11 Marine Protected Areas
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CONSERVATION SOCIETY OF POHNPEIFederated States of Micronesia
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Background and Context 4
Key Activities and Innovations 6
Biodiversity Impacts 8
Socioeconomic Impacts 11
Policy Impacts 12
Sustainability 13
Replication 14
Partners 14
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he Federated States o Micronesia (FSM) is made up o 607 islands
pread over one million square miles o the western Pacic Ocean,
omprising our states Yap, Chuuk, Kosrae, and Pohnpei. The
slands o the FSM contain over 1,000 plant species, at least 200
which are endemic. Its coral rees, estimated at 14,517 km2, are
ome to nearly 1,000 species o sh and over 350 species o hard
oral. Its proximity to the Indo-Malay region, and the vast distances
etween the islands avored high endemism and species diversity.
he majority o people living on these small islands depend on
atural resources or their ood, livelihoods, and traditional cultures.
hese resources are threatened by pressures associated with rapid
opulation growth, overharvesting, habitat destruction, changing
ultural practices, invasive species, and climate change.
alikir, capital o the Federated States o Micronesia, is located on
ohnpei Island. At over 780 metres, Pohnpeis tallest peaks are lush
nd verdant, towering above a gentle talus slope at lower elevations
round its 80-mile (130 km) circumerence, surrounded by coral rees.
he state o Pohnpei covers approximately 133 square miles (345
m2), with a population o around 34,000; its outer islands include
ingelap, Mokil, Ant, Pakin, Ngatik, Nukuoro, and Kapingamarangi.
Balancing livelihood needs with resource sustainability
n recent decades, this island state has been the setting or a conict
etween local resource use and environmental sustainability. Arowing Ponapean population and the transition rom subsistence
estyles to a cash-based economy resulted in unsustainable levels
harvesting o sh and wildlie by the islands communities. This has
een particularly acute in the case o marine and coastal resources,
eading to the overharvesting o sh populations, depletion o
mangrove orests, and declining coral ree health.
One approach to conserving these threatened marine resources is
he institution o Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), rst established in
ohnpei in the late 1990s as part o a national strategy to conserve
the Federated States o Micronesias biological diversity. The F
Environment Sector Strategy (1999) called or the establishm
o a network o eective community-managed, ecolog
representative, and socially benecial marine and orest prote
areas in the nation to saeguard the countrys precious na
heritage. In 2003, the FSM completed a National Biodive
Strategies and Action Plan (NBSAP) with the goal o prote
and sustainably managing a ull representation o the coun
marine, reshwater, and terrestrial ecosystems. In the same
the government o the FSM, the U.S. Forest Service, The Na
Conservancy (TNC), university scientists, and local experts
drated A blueprint or conserving the biodiversity o the Fede
States o Micronesia to begin to address this goal.
Background and Context
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A total o 130 areas o biodiversity signicance, including 86 coastal
nd marine sites comprising 260,948 hectares, were identied
ationwide. Marine Protected Areas were a key strategy adopted to
egulate over-shing, and are now well-established as a conservation
measure across FSM, including in Pohnpei. Each MPA site incorporates
no-take zone; many also include key sh spawning sites known to
ocal shing communities. By banning shing rom these areas, the
MPAs hope to allow or regeneration o species numbers. To date,
owever, the eectiveness o these MPAs has been limited by a lack government investment in tactics to enorce shing regulations,
eading to encroachment within protected marine and costal zones
y local shers.
Conservation Society of Pohnpei
he Conservation Society o Pohnpei (CSP) emerged largely to
ridge the gap between state-led conservation eorts and the local
takeholders aected by them. The group was ounded in 1998 by
group o orty volunteers with the aim o preserving the natural
eritage o Pohnpei State and promoting sustainable development
ased on community-led resource management. Their approachwas to act as an intermediary between the traditional leaders o
ommunities and state authorities to ensure local compliance with
egislation on MPAs, watershed reserves, and shing regulations.
CSP works to create linkages between the state and
communities in the management o natural resources. Thro
environmental education campaigns, supporting altern
livelihood projects that reduce shing pressures, and enga
communities in participatory processes to establish MPA bound
CSP has sought to root marine management in local capacitie
ensure compliance with regulations, the initiative has comb
innovative monitoring strategies with traditional justice syst
with some notable successes. CSP currently works with a netwo seven MPAs around Pohnpeis main island. Other work a
have included invasive species eradication, improving water qu
through watershed management, and collaborating with part
in research and monitoring activities.
CSPs work has taken place against the background o ong
attempts to rehabilitate sh stocks and coral health aro
Pohnpei. Government eorts were renewed in 2006, when
Federated States o Micronesia was one o ve nations to sig
to the Micronesia Challenge (along with the Republic o Palau
Republic o the Marshall Islands, the U.S. Territory o Guam, and
Commonwealth o the Northern Mariana Islands) in partne
with The Nature Conservancy. Together, they promised to cons
30 percent o near-shore waters and 20 percent o key lands in
region by 2020. Rapid Ecological Assessments were condu
around Pohnpeis main island to inorm this strategy, and have
used to direct the setting-up o Marine Protected Areas.
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Key Activities and Innovations
he group categorizes its activities into three main areas o work:
marine, terrestrial, and educational. These ocuses are integrated into
holistic approach to environmental conservation, emphasizing or
onapean residents that their land-use practices directly aect the
tate o the marine environment. CSPs terrestrial programme works
with communities neighbouring Marine Protected Areas to mitigate
poor land use practices, while its marine programme includes
norcing bans on destructive shing practices. The educational
omponent is targeted at Pohnpeis large youth community, and is
elivered through extensive outreach programmes.
Marine programme
he main ocus o CSPs marine programme is coordinating the
ctivities o their network o Marine Protected Areas. There are
leven legally-designated MPAs surrounding Pohnpei; CSP currently
works in close collaboration with seven o these areas, namely
Nahtik and Kehpara in the municipality o Kitti, Dehpek/Takaieu
nd Mwand (Dekehos) in U, Sapwitik in Nett, and Namwen Na and
Namwen Nanhngih in Madolenihmw.
Many o these MPAs were established as early as 1999, but
aced difculties in ensuring compliance and gaining local sup
With the help o community youth groups and the Pohnpei S
Ofce o Marine Conservation, CSP has demarcated the MPAs
boundary markers, no-take signs and mooring buoys, all o w
are maintained regularly. They work in close conjunction with
conservation ofcers, municipal police, and community leade
developing plans or the co-management o MPAs. These are kn
locally as Community Action Plans. This process o develo
co-management plans can typically involve between ve
ten participatory planning meetings. CSPs role also consis
providing technical and scientic advice, developing the cap
o conservation enorcement ofcers to impose established and regulations, acilitating the creation o a network through w
MPAs can learn rom one another, and the collection o sh and
ree data at the MPA sites.
CSP has conducted extensive research and environme
assessments within the MPAs in conjunction with partners, as w
training community volunteers to conduct biodiversity monito
This has included monitoring o seagrass, coral, sediment
spawning sh populations. By acilitating network developm
between the dierent MPAs, CSP hopes to provide a orum
which conservation managers can learn rom one another, as
as rom other MPA networks in the Asia-Pacic region, and w
collaboratively to gain support rom traditional and governmleaders. This includes unding to support MPA management
and o-island trainings and learning exchanges, and allocatio
equipment and supplies to managers and enorcement ofcer
supplement their conservation o marine areas, CSP has encour
the development o alternative livelihoods such as sponge and
arming.
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As well as maintaining this MPA network, CSP has advocated or the
reation o new protected areas, with notable success in the case
Ant Atoll, a neighbouring privately-owned island. New legislation
stablished the Ant Atoll Biosphere Reserve in 2010. The momentum
or community-based marine management has also led to three
MPAs being created on Pakin Atoll, another local island.
Terrestrial programme
CSPs terrestrial programme has been based on parallel conservation
nd monitoring eorts conducted on Pohnpei island. This has
ncluded the creation o a Watershed Forest Reserve in which
gricultural activities are restricted, and other initiatives to improve
water quality. A second area o work has been raising awareness on
he eradication o invasive species, such as the False Sakau plant,
ntailing a campaign to change agricultural practices in upland areas
the Forest Reserve. Finally, CSP has also worked with international
artners on an Ethnobotany project, compiling documentation o
he islands plants, their medicinal properties, and their usage by
ocal people.
Education and awareness-raising programme
The third component o CSPs work is raising awarenes
conservation through educational outreach. Their Environme
Awareness Programme works to educate Pohnpei residents abou
importance o the environment and encourages their participa
in conservation activities. The Societys agship programmes ar
Youth-to-Youth Programme, which works with grade six cla
rom seven local schools; the Green Road Show, which traveelementary schools on the island and works with grade ve cla
an Environmental Club or high school students; and commu
outreach, involving various communities in Pohnpei. CSP has
supplemented its public education eorts with the productio
several publications, including a quarterly newsletter, and we
radio programmes, video, posters, a childrens activity booklet
numerous other resource materials.
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Impacts
BIODIVERSITY IMPACTS
Pohnpei is home to some o the richest biodiversity in the Federated
tates o Micronesia. Sixteen percent o its species are endemic,
ncluding 110 trees, 56 birds, 25 species o terrestrial tree snails, 3 sh
pecies and the skink lizard. Pohnpei also has the lowest dwar cloud
orest and the largest intact lowland tropical orest in the Pacic,
nd the largest grouper sh spawning and aggregation site in the
ndo-Pacic region. These eatures have made the area the ocus
o many international conservation groups and researchers; the
Conservation Society o Pohnpei has acilitated these relationships,
nd integrated the results into its conservation strategies. Much o
CSPs work within its seven Marine Protected Areas has been basedon analysis o the main threats to its ecological integrity.
ntegrating international expertise and local action
rom 2005 to 2006, a Rapid Ecological Assessment (REA) was
onducted in Pohnpei, including Ant and Pakin Atolls, to identiy
reas o signicant biodiversity. This ramework was developed by
TNC and was carried out in conjunction with CSP sta. The results
were used to assess the eectiveness o the existing MPA network,
both rom a sheries and biodiversity perspective. For instance, a
unanimous nding recorded by the team o scientists during the
REA was that sedimentation caused by human activity is a threat to
biodiversity conservation within the Pohnpei lagoon. CSPs currenteorts incorporate a ridges to ree strategy to address the threats o
ediment build-up and pollution, which aect the health o the coral
ees and thereore sh stocks. CSP also conducts its own ongoing
monitoring o Pohnpeis sh populations, coral rees, sediment
build-up, and seagrass to keep track o positive or negative changes
over time, as well as implementing socioeconomic and governance
monitoring programmes; these results inorm the management o
ndividual MPAs and the MPA network as a whole.
Monitoring key biodiversity indicators
Commercially-important sh species: Key shery species
benthic habitats are monitored inside and outside o each
using permanent belt transects and line-intercept transects. U
volunteers rom local communities, CSP conducts sh monitori
ve MPAs. Monitoring sh populations measures the eective
o MPA management and occurs bi-monthly in and around
MPAs, to indicate population trends over time. This has ocuse
three o the preerred local market sh amilies: Scaridae (Par
Lethrinidae (Emperors), and Siganidae (Rabbit).
Fish spawning sites: The Serranid spawning aggregatioKephara MPA, meanwhile, is monitored on an annual basis, u
permanent 325-t transects. The three aggregating species
(or Camouage grouper), Sawi (Coral trout), and Ripw-ripw (B
Marbled grouper) occupy the ree in distinct sections w
they perorm rituals that include changing colour, territoriality
courtship. These events repeat around ull moon every Janua
May and last 1-2 weeks per month. During the past decade, W
species numbers have declined as a result o unregulated overs
representing an ongoing challenge or Pohnpeis Marine Prote
Areas. Kephara MPAs Widir aggregation and spawning site is the
remaining o substantial magnitude in the Asia Pacic region
has assisted in instituting a state-sanctioned annual ban on the
o grouper sh in the months o March and April. This is monitthrough markets, however, rather than on-site: the ban has
prevented shers rom reezing their catches to sell ater the cl
period, and is an ongoing concern or CSPs conservation eort
Coral health: CSP currently monitors coral health in Dehp
Dekehos, and Sapwitik MPAs to determine yearly changes in the
community, using monitoring o neighbouring coral rees as a
or comparison. Coral sedimentation monitoring is also undert
in Sapwitik MPA, as well as in adjacent rees to sand mining a
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n order to measure water quality. All samples are collected, dried,
and weights are recorded. The resulting data is plotted to determine
ediment load throughout the year.
Seagrass: Seagrass monitoring has been carried out on Pohnpei
ince 2001 by researchers rom the College o Micronesia. In 2007,
CSP partnered with this team at two existing sampling sites,
pwal-Sokehs and Rohi-Kitti, and included a new site at Sapwitik
sland MPA. Results rom this research contribute to SeagrassNet,an international monitoring programme that documents coastal
habitats worldwide.
Ecological monitoring informing conservation practice
These ongoing monitoring processes help to inorm the regulation
o activities within the Marine Protected Areas. Methods or ensuring
compliance with the protected areas regulations have included
raditional ceremonies held in conjunction with community
members, village leaders, NGO representatives, CSP sta, and
municipal government representatives, in which trespassers
ask village chies or orgiveness. Cultural norms around shame
and punishment, dictated by a persons rank within their villagecommunity hierarchy, are a potentially powerul tool to ensure
compliance. This process o traditional justice has been promoted by
CSP in Enipein community, part o the Nahtik Marine Protected Area.
CSP has also assisted Nahtik MPA in nding innovative ways to
monitor compliance within their no-take zone. In 2007, with a
grant o USD 20,650 rom the UNDP-implemented GEF Small Grants
Programme, local community conservation ofcers built a bamboo
at, complete with roo, cooking area and outhouse, rom which to
monitor illegal shing within the MPA. This also allows monitoring
during the night, when incursions would otherwise go undetected.
The combination o re-introducing traditional justice systems and
encouraging modern-day innovations has proved to be highly
uccessul in the case o Nahtik MPA.
Combating environmental challenges on Pohnpei Island
Terrestrial resource management has supplemented CSPs marine
programme. The creation o a Watershed Forest Reserve to protect
Pohnpeis upland orest has been a major initiative undertaken by
CSP, while recent work has ocused on the Nanpil and Sehnpehn
Watershed. The project studies the correlations between stream
ow, sediment load and rainall, using gauge measurement and
monitoring studies. These activities provide solid inormation on the
eects o land-clearing activities on the quality o the watershed andhe sedimentation runo levels to the coral rees. CSP is also working
with communities to establish community-based Mangrove Forest
Reserves. This process has consisted o participatory workshops,
oning demarcation, and monitoring mechanisms. Another concern
s the control o invasive species. CSP works with the Pohnpei
nvasive Species Task Force to eradicate and raise awareness on alien
pecies.
False Sakau: A primary threat to biodiversity in Pohnpei is the illegal
growing o False Sakau (Piper Arithrium) in the Watershed Forest
Reserve. Sakau is used to produce a traditional beverage w
calming eect that has been widely consumed in Pohnpei
other South Pacic islands or centuries. Once restricted only to
aristocracy, this root drink has become widely popular in Poh
Traditionally the crop was grown mainly in the lowlands
demand has become so high that people are increasingly mo
illegally into the uplands orest reserve and clearing trees to p
sakau, where it grows aster.
To discourage sakau armers rom encroaching on water
reserve land, CSP has developed the Grow Low campaign. Far
are taught new and more eective techniques or growing sak
the lowlands, given sakau seedlings to start their new arms, an
also given vegetable seedlings and training in growing veget
to supplement their income. To date, CSP has worked with
3,000 sakau armers. The incentives oered by the programm
conjunction with a strong compliance system, proved to be ee
in decreasing the number o new orest clearings rom
onwards. In 2007, with a USD 50,000 grant rom the GEF Small G
Programme, CSP implemented a two-year programme incorpor
the distribution o vegetable seedlings to sakau armers as a m
o generating alternative income sources in a shorter period o It was envisaged that this project would bring sufcient inc
and better nutrition to sakau armers, urther reducing the num
and size o orest clearings in the Watershed Forest Reserve. W
the work has continued using unding rom the European U
the alternative livelihoods component has not taken hold. S
continues to be grown, largely as a result o its cultural import
or Ponapeans. It is used in traditional ceremonies throug
peoples lie cycles, and has continued to expand rom a pres
o the richer elite to a widely-shared practice. CSPs work did
success in moving sakau growing out o the islands important
watersheds, however.
Monitoring orest watershed integrity: Since 2001, the Water
Forest Reserve monitoring programme has ocused on thirteen
areas. These areas have been monitored or human incursions
especially clearing orest areas or land plots to plant crops. Ru
rom clearings in the orest reserve adds to sedimentation, dama
Pohnpeis coral rees. A ew community members rom each are
taught measuring and evaluating techniques, including the u
GPS technology, and are responsible or quarterly monitorin
orest activities in these areas along with CSP sta and muni
police. Recent monitoring results have shown that CSPs terre
strategies are having a positive eect. Within the rst year, there
a 50% decrease in orest clearing. The clearest results were in a
where the watershed boundary lines were already demarcsuch as U and Madolenihmw. This demonstrated that having cl
demarcated watershed boundary lines is an eective strateg
discourage intrusions. From a high o six hundred orest clearin
2002, plots ell to twenty-eight in January 2004, while in April
there was a single clearing recorded. In 2006, there were eight
orest clearings, ollowed by only ve new clearings in 2007.
Terrestrial invasive species: Invasive species targeted by CS
eradication include the Ivy Gourd (Coccinia grandis), Chain o
(Antigonon leptopus), Mile-a-minute (mikania micrantha), and
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rown Tree Snake (Boiga irregularis), an invasive species that has
amously devastated native bird populations in Guam. Through
articipation in a high-level advisory group, the Regional Invasive
pecies Council (RISC), the Federated States o Micronesia and other
Micronesian nations are drating a bio-security plan to address the
pread o invasive species in the region. Through awareness-raising
bout these threats, CSP can play a role in a locally-adapted plan asart o this regional strategy, which hopes to eradicate 100% o these
pecies by the end o 2012. CSP has implemented its invasive species
rogrammes with the support o the Critical Ecosystem Partnership
und (CEPF). It has also helped to coordinate a three-year strategic
ction plan or the Invasive Species Taskorce o Pohnpei (iSTOP), a
multi-agency group aimed at protecting the island rom the threat
invasive species.
Environmental awareness-raising
n addition to measures that enorce compliance with CSPs various
onservation initiatives, the group has carried out environmental
ducation initiatives with Pohnpeis communities. Much o thisas ocused on young people. Since 2002, the Green Road Show
as delivered mobile, entertaining environmental education or
ohnpeis th grade students. This was the rst environmental
ducation programme ocused specically on Pohnpeis conservation
ssues. Two Environmental Educators visit primary schools six
mes throughout the school year in a painted vehicle, teaching
ducational sessions centered on our environmental topics: Upland
orests, Mangroves, Coral Rees, and Waste and Pollution. Students
eceive activity booklets, while posters are given or classrooms.
Test results rom beore and ater the visits show an increase in
participants knowledge o their environment. This programme
visited all 27 island schools, reaching approximately 8,000 yo
students to date. This work is undertaken in partnership with
states Environmental Protection Agency and the Departmen
Education.
Borrowing rom the successul Youth-to-Youth public education
awareness programme in the Marshall Islands, the Conserva
Society o Pohnpei has tailored this approach to imp
environmental awareness and education in Pohnpei. Together
partners, CSP coordinates the Pwulopwul ohng me Pwulop
(Youth-to-Youth) environmental programme in seven sch
The programme partners each school with a state agenc
non-governmental organization to work on an environm
project throughout the school year. Projects that have b
implemented include lowland sakau production, water qu
testing, medicinal plant gardening, marine surveying, demarc
Marine Protected Areas, education on Persistent Organic Pollut
marine conservation practices, mangrove orests, agrooreupland orest/deorestation, and recyclable art. The respe
agency, teachers and students carry out their chosen activity in
surrounding community. The programmes culminate in a air w
students showcase what they learned rom their mentor agenc
the orm o drama, poster shows, presentations, songs and da
The air is also taped and aired on the local radio station and reco
and edited or the local TV station.
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An Environment Club, ormed by CSP in 2004, targets high school
tudents. Activities in 2005 included participation in CSPs RARE
Conservation agship species campaign, raising awareness o the
ohnpei Mangrove Crab (Elimoang), as well as radio programme
roduction, video making, mural painting, community outreach and
nvironmental songs. Summer marine environmental camps have
iven students the opportunity to participate in coral identication,
sh monitoring, GPS techniques and Marine Protected Areas
xploration. In 2007, CSP held its rst terrestrial summer camp,t which students learned about the Watershed Forest Reserve,
thnobotany, orestry, and bird surveys, and were able to hike
Nahnalaud, the highest mountain in Pohnpei.
n 2010, a Youth Environmental Ambassadors Summer Camp was
eld on Black Coral Island. The Societys Marine programme and the
Marine Conservation Unit led the students through three days o
nteractive sessions on marine conservation and environmental laws
nd regulations in Pohnpei. The students were also given a tour o the
Nahtik Marine Protected Area, including the permanent monitoring
at. These extensive environmental education and outreach eorts
re integral to the organizations long-term strategy o equipping
ohnpeis youth with the knowledge and technical skills to valuend conserve their islands natural and cultural heritage.
SOCIOECONOMIC IMPACTS
he socioeconomic benets o CSPs work have been elt through
heir sustainable aquaculture programme, an ethnobotany project
ocumenting knowledge on medicinal plants and their usage by
ocal people, and water quality monitoring.
Diversifying marine-based livelihoods
CSP works in partnership with another local NGO, the Marine
nvironment Research Institute o Pohnpei (MERIP), to support
ustainable aquaculture in the orm o sponge and coral arming.
The technical role o coral and sponge arm development is han
by MERIP, while CSP assists with raising awareness o and promo
the idea in the targeted communities. The number o sponge a
grew rom two in 2001/2002 to twenty active arms by 2007. Six c
armers were given training in 2006; this number increased to ni
2007. The number o arms is expected to expand by more than
in the next three years as local markets are established and beg
grow. Most o the sponge armers are connected to Pohnpeis
Network, which includes the MPA communities o Nahtik, SapwMwahnd, Dehpehk, Namwen Nahningi and Namwen Na. Mar
developed to date include local hotels and restaurants, a U.S.-b
private company, the Community Conservation Network in Ha
The Nature Conservancy in Minnesota, and Swatch, in Japan.
Coral arming has helped to diversiy the income o armers and,
to a shorter maturation period, armers receive more rapid return
their time and investment. One cause o overshing is the artic
low market prices paid to shers that drive them to take increasi
larger volumes o sh to cover growing expenses, such as rising
and supply costs, and still earn a living wage. By supplementing
income through sponge or coral arms these shermen are ab
reduce their shing to more sustainable levels.
Demonstrating the value of biodiversity to wellbeing
A project that has successully combined conservation, cul
and the health o local communities is the Micronesia Ethnobo
Project, begun in January 2006. This project was initially establi
in 1997 by a researcher rom the New York Botanical Garden, U
Two CSP sta members currently participate as eld sta in
project.
The initiative aims to preserve and document the traditional us
plants. Plant use inormation is careully obtained through interv
and collection o specimens. These are dried and submitteresearch institutes or identication and herbaria purposes. P
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pecimens are also returned and stored at the College o Micronesia
erbarium in Palikir. The projects ndings have been documented
n two books: A Primary Health Care Manual and Ethnobotany of
ohnpei: Plants, People and Island Culture. The Primary Health Care
Manual has included local plant uses or common ailments and was
made available to health care proessionals on Pohnpei in the many
ispensaries around the island. Ethnobotany of Pohnpei, Plants, People
nd Island Culture serves as a record o Pohnpeis traditional plant
nowledge. The latter was published in January 2009, copyrightedn the name o Pohnpeis traditional leaders and the Pohnpei State
overnment, ensuring that this knowledge remains the property o
ohnpeis people.
A second health benet o CSPs work has been in improved water
uality or Pohnpeis citizens. The Nanpil River is a vital source
drinking water or nearly 60 percent o Pohnpeis residents.
CSP targeted the rivers water quality in the community o Nett
n an eighteen-month project unded by the European Union,
rom 2008-10. This project was varied in its scope and activities:
ne o the main components was the continuation o the Grow
ow Sakau campaign, which encouraged armers to plant in the
owlands rather than in the watershed orest reserve, while a team
lso identied over 34 sources o contamination, mostly piggeries
r pit toilets, along the river banks. CSP, in conjunction with the
nvironmental Protection Agency, tested water at ve dierent
ocations and ound levels oE. coliand Enterococci to be extremely
igh in some sites. With the support o the Federated States o
Micronesias Integrated Water Resource Management und, CSP has
dentied good practices in animal and human waste management
o help counteract this threat. The und has also helped support
ublic awareness and education activities comprising community
meetings, radio announcements, and posters. CSP has identied
esources to remove hal o these sources o contamination rom
Nanpil, as well as expanding to assess tributary rivers and streams,sing geographic inormation system (GIS) mapping o these sites to
evelop action plans or urther contaminant removal.
ocioeconomic and governance monitoring within MPA
ommunities provides eedback on how the MPA is aecting peoples
ves and monitors the communities understanding o the value o
MPAs and their involvement in their management. Inormation rom
ll o these monitoring activities is used to strategically manage the
MPA network and to urther ormulate sound management policy.
POLICY IMPACTS
CSPs success in coordinating conservation activities withinohnpei has led to it playing a lead role in conservation within the
ederated States o Micronesia. One success in this area has been the
esignation o Ant Atoll as a biosphere reserve, while CSP has also
ontributed experts to national research bodies.
Collaborative creation of a new MPA
Ant Atoll is one o the most signicant islands in Micronesia, and
was identied as one o twenty-our Priority Action Areas in the
ederated States o Micronesias National Biodiversity Strategic
Action Plan (NBSAP). During the Rapid Ecological Assessm
conducted in 2006, the Ant channel was recorded as having
o the highest levels o biodiversity in Pohnpei, with an estima
over 165 species o sh, 25 bird species, and 13 species o rep
including the green turtle (Chelonia mydas) and hawksbill t
(Eretmochelys imbricata). One o the islets on the atoll, Wolo
is home to one o the last intact seabird rookeries in the reg
The atolls main channel into its 742 km lagoon is a spawning
aggregation site or three grouper species (Plectropomus areolEpinephelus fuscoguttatus, and Epinephelus polyphekadion), w
the surrounding coral rees hold healthy populations o giant c
(Hippopus hippopus, Tridagna Maxima, and Derasa).
In October 2007, Ant Atoll was nominated to become the nat
second Biosphere Reserve, ollowing the Utwe/Walung Biosp
Reserve in Kosrae; the reserve gained ofcial status in 2010.
was the result o a ten-year partnership between CSP, the Na
Family, which owns the island, UNESCOs Man And Biosp
(MAB) Programme, and both Pohnpei State and Federated S
o Micronesian governments. The reserve will contribute to
conservation o substantial ecosystem, species, and ge
biological diversity.
Unlike Pohnpeis other MPAs, Ant Atoll Biosphere consists o t
zones: Core Zones, where strict protection measures will be ap
to protect the key areas or sh spawning, turtles, and bird nes
Buer Zones, adjacent to the core zones, in which shing activ
are regulated and tourist activities can be developed; and Trans
Zones, allowing or better management o sh stocks thro
monitoring. The ongoing management o its sh stocks will s
as an important test case or the Federated States o Microne
shing policies.
Contributing expertise to policy processes
With climate change and its eects already being experience
many areas o the Federated States o Micronesia, the nat
government commissioned a team o experts to compile a
o baseline data or the country. Three members o CSPs Ma
Programme and one member o their Terrestrial Programme
included in the team, which gathered inormation on a varie
issues related to the outer atolls, including soil composition
health, ree surveys, disaster preparedness, and invasive species
Finally, CSPs monitoring activities have also contributed to a b
o research managed by SeagrassNet. This international monito
programme documents the status o seagrass resources worldw
as well as threats to this important marine ecosystem.
programme started in 2001 in the Western Pacic and now incl
60 sites in 20 countries; a global monitoring protocol and
based data reporting system have been established. Seagrass
ultimate aim is to preserve the seagrass ecosystems by increa
scientic knowledge and public awareness o this threatened co
resource.
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Sustainability and Replication
SUSTAINABILITYn terms o the social basis or CSPs work, there is strong support rom
ocal communities or the continued management o their Marine
rotected Areas. The group helps to build the capacities o local sta
n these eorts as well as coordinating conservation eorts across
ts network. It has also been successul in gaining assistance rom
xternal sources in the orms o unding and technical assistance.
hese relationships with international actors have also been used
o build the capacity o CSPs own sta, ensuring its organizational
ustainability. In environmental terms, however, the initiative still
aces several challenges. Fish stocks and other marine resources
ontinue to be depleted unsustainably, posing an ongoing challengeo the ecological viability o the region.
Capacity building: CSP ocuses much o its eorts on the education o
ommunities and training o MPA community leaders, in partnership
with the international network o Locally Managed Marine Areas
LMMA). CSP has helped to train Community Conservation Ofcers,
ommunity volunteers who patrol the MPAs and conduct monitoring
n these areas. Training has also been acilitated through organizing
ross-site visits within the LMMA network.
n 2010 alone, CSPs Marine Programme Manager took part in a
raduate certicate course or conservation practitioners in Fiji,
upported by the Packard Foundation; the organizations ExecutiveDirector participated in a three-week tour o America as part o a U.S.
tate Department project on climate change adaptation strategies;
he Environmental Educator participated in a Japan International
Cooperation Agency-unded course in Fiji on Waste Management
nd Education; and two sta members rom CSPs Terrestrial
rogramme spent two weeks in the Philippines or a course on
nvasive species and protected areas management. In addition,
CSP was able to bring in a human resources expert rom The Nature
Conservancy to supervise a sel-evaluation process. This was aimed
o keep CSP competitive in the job market in order to retain their
highly-qualied young sta members. Organizational capacity
within CSP and the MPAs it works with is thereore very high.
Strategic partnerships and accountability: National and internat
partnerships have been critical to CSPs success. CSP has sec
two three-year grants and one our-year grant or its MPA netw
through the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, which hasprovided on-site technical and capacity development sup
WildAid, an international organization spearheading g
conservation enorcement, approached CSP to oer unding
community enorcement training and conservation practices
has also garnered unding rom various United States govern
agencies that continue to support their local conservation
community capacity building ocuses. Finally, CSP has wo
closely with a national interagency working group, the Poh
Resource Management Committee, to access nancial and tech
assistance or its programmes.
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inancial accounting has been prioritized as a key component or
SPs organizational sustainability. Sta members have received
raining in account management. Monthly nancial reports are
resented to the Board o Directors, while progress and budget
pending reports are submitted to all unders. CSP has also employed
ull-time MPA coordinator since the inception o the project, who
manages any monies dedicated to this initiative, ensuring proper
istribution o unds and resources. The organization has been able
o maintain a ocus on its strategic goals through the setting ohree-year plans, evaluations and strategic planning exercises.
i. Identifying current environmental threats
n ecological assessment o Pohnpeis shing stocks has shown
hat population sizes continue to diminish. Data rom a 2006 market
urvey show that 1.6 million pounds o ree sh are harvested
nnually, while Pohnpeis rees can produce only 1.1 million pounds
ree sh each year. Declines in coral ree health and increased
shing are adding to the problem. Marine Protected Areas may not
e enough to maintain sh stocks in Pohnpei. Regulations such as a
ee sh export ban and sh size limits might be necessary to prevent
his over-exploitation; restrictions on gill nets and night-time spear
shing, and targeted protection or sh during spawning periods
ave also been proposed as strategies or restoration o sh stocks.
SP continues to work with its partners, Pohnpei state legislators,
nd local governors to produce a legislative programme that will
omprehensively tackle the challenges o unregulated over-shing;
his will be crucial to the long-term ecological sustainability o
ohnpeis marine biodiversity.
REPLICATION
arious aspects o CSPs programmes, including both their MPA
models and educational campaigns, have been replicated in other
reas. This has been acilitated by CSPs ongoing involvement inegional and international LMMA and MPA networks.
s well as the creation o the Ant Atoll biosphere reserve, the
ommunity o Pakin Atoll has established three MPAs around their
land. The three protected sites were designated to help manage the
ngoing problem o over-shing in Pohnpei, as well as to preserve
nd protect the islands coral rees and its marine resources. CSP is
ommitted to providing assistance to the Pakin community through
he creation o a collaborative management structure.
n 2010, the sixth annual national LMMA network cross-site visit
was held on Peniou Island. This brings together community chies,
municipality mayors, community conservation ofcers, conservationractitioners rom NGOs and the state, church leaders, and
overnment ofcers. One o the issues discussed was the ormation
a new protected area in the Kitti area. Some community leaders elt
hat establishing another protected area would limit shing options
nd take away a valuable sand mining resource or local people. The
roposed area could soon join the eleven other MPA sites around
ohnpei, however, i these issues can be collectively resolved.
The success o CSPs Green Road Show has led to its replica
in Palau and Kosrae. Today, both islands have similar educa
initiatives: the Ridges to Ree Show, coordinated by P
Conservation Society, and the Nature Road Show, implemente
the Kosrae Conservation and Saety Organization. CSP worked
these two organizations to adapt and develop these program
or their islands.
PARTNERS Pohnpei State, including the Department o Educa
Department o Lands and Natural Resources, Departmen
Public Saety, Marine Conservation Unit, Pohnpei Reso
Management Committee, Environmental Protection Agenc
Municipal Governments
Paramount Chies and other Traditional Leaders
Community Conservation Ofcers and Forest Rangers
Secretariat o the Pacic Community
Youth and Womens Organizations
FSM Sustainable Development Council
Micronesia Conservation Trust
Micronesians in Island Conservation
College o Micronesia, FSM
USDA-Natural Resource Conservation Services
Island Food Community o Pohnpei
Marine Environmental Research Institute o Pohnpei (MERIP
The Nature Conservancy (TNC)
Locally Managed Marine Area (LMMA) network
David and Lucille Packard Foundation
UNDP-implemented Global Environment Facility (GEF) S
Grants Programme (SGP)
UNESCO
U.S. Department o the Interior
U.S. Fish and Wildlie Service National Fish and Wildlie Foundation
Micronesia Conservation Trust
U.S. Geological Survey and the Water and Environme
Research Institute (WERI) o the University o Guam
U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund
Global Greengrants Fund
AusAid
Australian Governments Regional Natural Heritage Program
Secretariat o the Pacic Community - Applied Geoscience
Technology Division
U.S. Forest Service
University o Hawaii U.S. Department o Agriculture
Canada Fund
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FURTHER REFERENCE
Fuder, J. 2010. Pohnpeis diminishing ree sh need protection. http://archives.pireport.org/archive/2010/October/10-14-cm.htm
Conservation Society o Pohnpei website http://www.serehd.org/Home.html
http://www.equatorinitiative.org/images/stories/com_winners/casestudy/case_1348258269.pdfhttp://www.equatorinitiative.org/images/stories/com_winners/casestudy/case_1348162756.pdfhttp://www.equatorinitiative.org/images/stories/com_winners/casestudy/case_1348159896.pdf