Federated States of Micronesia

Simon Ellis

UHH PACRC

MERIP

Background

• Number of islands: over 600• Number of States: 4 (Kosrae, Pohnpei, Chuuk,

Yap)• Population: 107,000• Geography: High islands and coral atolls• Land mass: 700 km2• EEZ: 2.9 million km2• Language: English and indigenous languages• Political status: Independent nation since 1986,

freely associated with the U.S.

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Major Environmental Issues

• Sedimentation – land clearing, invasives

• Over fishing – COTS, habitat degradation

• Climate change – coastal erosion

• Coastal development – land clearing, dredging

Data Collection

• Coral monitoring

• Spawning aggregation monitoring

• MPA monitoring

• Sedimentation monitoring

• Weather stations (NOAA)

• Coastal erosion surveys

• Forest monitoring

Research Needs• Coastal erosion and sea-level rise are critical issues• Water pollution both for the environment and human health. • Erosion, sedimentation and other impacts arising from economic

development and urbanization .• Destructive methods, poor practices and overharvesting are affecting both

marine and terrestrial environments • Dredging and mining is impacting many islands, but particularly the most

inhabited islands.• Landfills and dumping are issues as waste from imported Western products

grows.• Sustainable forms of economic development such as eco-tourism, natural

products, aquaculture and sustainable agriculture needs more research, education and extension effort.

• Control of invasive species is required.• Promote and facilitate cooperation to effectively implement the NBSAP and

Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plans for Chuuk, Yap, Kosrae and Pohnpei. • Promote and facilitate technical and scientific cooperation between FSM and

other countries, organizations and institutions.