Passing along a news item of interest to some IAMSLIC members.
Aloha,
Jane
>http://pidp.eastwestcenter.org/pireport/2002/March/03-25-01.htm
>
>PACIFIC ISLANDS REPORT
>
>Pacific Islands Development Program/East-West Center
>With Support From Center for Pacific Islands Studies/University of
>Hawai'i
>
>PALAU SEEKS ENVIRONMENTAL IDENTITY
>
>By Scott Radway
>
>KOROR, Palau (March 25, 2002 - Pacific Daily News)---Uro Ikesakes
>started fishing in Airai Bay when he was a teen-ager, swimming side by
>side with his family and friends, spearing fish after fish from a
>bustling coral reef.
>
>Fishing in the bay was a way of life in the village.
>
>Things are different now, more than 50 years later, but not because he
>is any less of a fisherman. His aqua-blue bay, once home to a healthy
>coral reef, is now mud-red and home to almost nothing but algae. After
>a full day of fishing today, his cooler is maybe half full.
>
>"We don't fish there anymore," said the 68-year-old subsistence
>fisherman, his crow's feet framing his wistful stare.
>
>His is an unusual story for Palau, a small Pacific island nation with
>a population of under 20,000, known the world over for its awing
>natural beauty and its abundance of fish. But his is a story some
>officials fear could become all too common if leaders don't plan well
>for the future.
>
>The cause of their alarm is a multimillion-dollar U.S. road project on
>the pristine island of Babeldaob that they say has brought Palau to a
>monumental environmental and cultural crossroad.
>
>Babeldaob is the second largest island in Micronesia after Guam and
>comprises 70 percent of the nation's land. But for years the center of
>the government and population has been the much smaller island of
>Koror where modern infrastructure exists.
>
>The road will change that.
>
>In about two years, U.S.-contracted workers are expected to lay 53
>miles of asphalt to circle Babeldaob and create an enormous potential
>for modern development such as hotels, golf courses and new homes. For
>perspective, Palau's roads currently total only 83 miles.
>
>In Airai State, the first state on Babeldaob over the bridge from
>Koror, development has already begun as some of the population in
>Koror -- where about 70 percent of the nation's people live -- is
>beginning to move over the bridge that connects the two islands.
>
>Along with the work for the road, parcels have been cleared for homes,
>for farms and for a golf course. And the reef, where Ikesakes once
>fished bountifully, is being buried by the dirt running off the land
>from the new development, marine biologists say. Erosion, no longer
>controlled by the natural vegetation, has suffocated Airai Bay,
>killing coral and leaving it nearly barren of fish.
>
>Airai State is a good example of what will happen on the rest of the
>island if Palauans do not plan ahead, said Noah Idechong, a Palau
>Delegate and world-renowned environmentalist. It's high time for
>people to decide how the island should be developed and how much
>should be developed, he said.
>
>At stake is Palauan culture and the identity of its people who have so
>long lived in harmony with the sea and land, Idechong said. Without
>the reefs, so much is lost.
>
>"There is no time. We need to decide what we want our island to be,"
>Idechong said. "Because if the road goes in and we haven't decided,
>all hell will break loose."
>
>To be Palauan
>
>Palauans are a proud and ambitious people.
>
>They are proud of their culture, their heritage, their traditions. And
>they are eager to compete in the modern world, eager to keep pace with
>technology, medicine and wealth.
>
>Palauans will openly tell you that the mix presents a conflict. To
>compete in the modern world an economy must grow and when that happens
>a traditional society is put at risk.
>
>"We have to decide exactly what we want for Palau," said Yimnang
>Golbuu, a chief researcher with the Palau International Coral Reef
>Center.
>
>Palauans often look to Guam when they consider their potential for
>development. Guam had a huge boom in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
>Hotels went up, infrastructure was expanded and the environment was
>devastated.
>
>"Guam basically got burned," said Bob Richmond, a marine biology
>professor with the University of Guam, working with Palauan officials
>to protect Babeldaob's reefs.
>
>Just 20 years ago, Guam's coral reefs had 70 percent more fish. With
>the reefs' demise Guam also has seen much of its traditional culture
>diluted. The sea, which was an invaluable bond for Chamorro families,
>was lost as the reefs were degraded and Guam became more like a slice
>of America, dotted with strip malls, multi-screen theaters and
>numerous fast-food restaurants.
>
>"If we are not careful, we will end up like Guam," Golbuu said.
>
>But to be clear, the $125-million U.S. road project is something the
>Palauans asked for. The island nation made it a condition of the
>compact agreement signed with the United States in 1994 when Palau
>gained its independence. Federal and local officials call it the
>Compact Road.
>
>"The road is our economic bloodline," said Kione Isechal, an engineer
>with the Palauan president's office acting as a liaison with the U.S.
>Army Corps of Engineers as the project moves forward.
>
>Since the colonial days, when the Germans, the Japanese and the United
>States controlled Palau, the center of activity has been Koror where
>the best harbors are and the modern infrastructure was developed.
>
>But the state of Koror is only 36 square miles compared to Babeldaob's
>127 square miles. The long lines of cars up and down the main two-lane
>roads during rush hour are clear proof of its limited size and
>infrastructure.
>
>"The road will be very useful for opening our island for economic
>development," Isechal said. "We are confident, with proper planning,
>development will be done right."
>
>The Palauan government already is building a new capital in the middle
>of Babeldaob. Isechal said the president's office is well aware of the
>environmental risks of development, but construction methods can be
>improved and impacts mitigated.
>
>"The road is a good project," Isechal said. "It's a shame we have to
>make some environmental sacrifice, but they are calculated sacrifices.
>It's our responsibility to balance it."
>
>How much is enough?
>
>As Idechong steered his motorboat up the Ngermeskang River and through
>the thick jungle, he pointed to the red water that was turning a pale
>brown as the bow cut it.
>
>"That is from the road," Idechong said, pointing at the dirt that was
>churning in the river.
>
>The Ngermeskang River is the largest river in Micronesia and it runs
>into Ngaremeduu Bay, creating the largest and most biological diverse
>estuary in Micronesia. The area is an environmental jewel.
>
>Leaders of the three Palauan states that share the ownership of the
>area have recognized that fact and designated some 30,000 acres as a
>conservation area.
>
>But that area, like all of Babeldaob, is at risk from the road project
>and coming development, Idechong said. Already, silt from road
>clearing has turned red portions of the river that were once blue.
>
>If more clearing is done in the uplands, more and more dirt will be
>washed into the river until eventually the vegetation that naturally
>filters out the dirt will be overburdened, he said. And the reef will
>be buried like it was in Airai.
>
>Idechong was touring the area with acclaimed photographer Norbert Wu
>to document the changes in the environment so he can show the Palauan
>Legislature and president the impact of development. Both Wu and
>Idechong were granted prestigious fellowships from the Pew Charitable
>Trusts for their environmental work.
>
>"If you build the hotels, people will come. That's true," Idechong
>said. "But how many millions if enough money for 15,000 people?"
>
>That is roughly the number of Palauans that live in Palau. Idechong
>said the vital question for Palauans is how much money they need.
>Because the reality is a tropical island can only bear so much before
>the environment is severely harmed and culture lost.
>
>Idechong said people also need to put a price tag on the worth of
>subsistence fishing and the value of Palauan culture.
>
>"We never talk about that. What is the worth of value of the
>subsistence fisherman, the value of culture and family bonding,"
>Idechong said. "We need to start a dialogue, to start talking about
>what we want for Palau."
>
>If Palau does not, the race for money and development will have no
>boundaries. The economy will grow, and more foreign labor will be
>brought in to meet the demand. Idechong notes that, today on Guam,
>Chamorros are less than 50 percent of the population.
>
>"There are a lot of contradictions in Palau. Some people don't think
>that there have to be sacrifices," he said. "But you can't have
>everything."
>
>Fishermen: An endangered species?
>
>About 30 people sat on the wood floor of the meetinghouse in Airai
>State. They had come to hear about a scientific study into why the
>coral reef in Airai Bay was near death.
>
>At the front sat Vincent Ito, a chief in Airai called Ilbasis. When he
>was asked how many people were fishermen in the village of Airai, Ito
>looked confused.
>
>"The people here are all fishermen," Ito said matter-of-factly.
>"Everyone is a fisherman."
>
>There are 47 villages like that one on Babeldaob. Village populations
>range from a handful of people to 500. And in all the villages, there
>are subsistence fishermen.
>
>But this Airai village is the first area to be drastically affected by
>development. As Koror's population spills over into Babeldaob,
>professionals are coming to Airai first to build homes.
>
>And farmers looking for land have come over too, cutting down trees
>and filling mangroves to make way for row crops. That is what is
>killing the reef, marine biologists told the fishermen gathered.
>
>Ito said it is too expensive for many fishermen who use traditional
>fishing methods to invest in motorboats and incur gas costs to fish
>elsewhere and still turn a profit. These fishermen were simply feeding
>their families.
>
>"No one ever thought fishing would become extinct," Ito said. "Now our
>fishermen have to look for alternative ways to survive and they are
>not well-educated. It's hard for them to find jobs."
>
>The fear is that Airai fisherman and village families will be turned
>out in the powerful tide of economic development and turned into
>welfare cases.
>
>Idechong, sitting nearby on the wood floor, stresses again that
>Palauans need to agree upon a vision to avert a cultural disaster.
>
>"We need to set a direction and then we can develop the mechanics,"
>Idechong said. "We need to define our vision or we stand to lose too
>much."
>
>
>For additional reports from the Pacific Daily News, go to PACIFIC
>ISLANDS REPORT News/Information Links:
>http://pidp.eastwestcenter.org/pireport/news_links_text.htm
>Newspapers/Pacific Daily News (Guam).
Jane Barnwell
Pacific Specialist
University of Hawai'i at Manoa
Hamilton Library
Pacific Collection
2550 The Mall
Honolulu, HI 96822
tel 808-956-9779
fax 808-956-5968
barnwell@hawaii.edu
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