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Updates Palau’s Protected Areas Network Act (2003)
The Protected Areas Network Act establishes the framework for a network of marine and terrestrial protected areas ensuring a long-term sustainable use of natural resources. The Act involves local communities by enabling them to undertake a scientific and social assessment of their local environment and supports traditional systems of natural resource management, which have a long history in Palau. As a result, 35 protected areas have been designated, including reefs, lagoons, mangroves and a sardine sanctuary. Palau achieved to protect 30 per cent of its near-shore marine environment and 20 per cent of its terrestrial environment by 2020 and was able to maintain this large protected area since then (as of 2024).
Palau was honoured with the Future Policy Gold Award in 2012 in recognition of the two outstanding marine policies, the Protected Areas Network Act, initiated in 2003, and the Shark Haven Act from 2009. In early 2014 Palau Palau’s then President Tommy Remengesau Jr. has declared the Pacific nation will become a marine sanctuary which followed the Shark Haven Act from 2009.
In 2015, the Palau National Congress (Olbiil era Kelulau) made a monumental decision: to designate 457,077 square kilometres of Palau’s ocean as a fully protected marine sanctuary. The vote cemented Palau, an archipelago consisting of more than 500 islands, as a global leader in efforts to establish “no-take” marine protected areas (MPAs), where all extractive activities such as fishing, and mining are prohibited. The Palau National Marine Sanctuary (PNMS) now makes up 80 percent of Palau’s territorial waters, with Palau holding the record for the largest percentage of exclusive economic zone (EEZ) designated as a fully protected marine area in the world. Locally managed fisheries are still permitted to operate in the remaining 20 percent of Palau’s EEZ. The PNMS is known locally through bul, a traditional practice that places a moratorium on actions that have a negative impact on the community. Fusing tradition with innovation, the Palauan nation has become a guiding light when it comes to protecting marine life for future generations.
Later, the original Act. 1 was slightly modified (PNC Title 27 was amended in 2019), allowing the export of fish in small amounts and relocating the domestic fishing zone to the western side of the archipelago.
https://www.undp.org/pacific/projects/palau-national-marine-santuary
On Jan. 1, 2020, Palau’s National Marine Sanctuary came into effect. The sanctuary covers 80% of Palau’s waters, including the exclusive economic zone. All extractive activities, including fishing and mining, are now prohibited in this area. The remaining 20% will be reserved for traditional fishing and highly regulated and reformed domestic fishing fleet to serve only Palau’s domestic and tourism needs as much as possible.
https://oceanconference.un.org/commitments/?id=14321
Update 2024:
The Covid-19 pandemic was shaking political support when GDP suffered due to the decline in tourism. There were vigorous attempts to reopen a large portion of the protected area. However, the PNMS remained intact due to strong civil backlash, demonstrating the importance of engaging all affected stakeholders. It is hoped that civil society will continue to have a strong voice in maintaining the PNMS as it is.
https://islandtimes.org/palaus-famed-marine-sanctuary-is-intact-for-now/
The Palau National Marine Sanctuary Science and Monitoring Strategy for 2024 – 2034 can be found here.
- The Palau Protected Areas Network (PAN) Act establishes a nationwide framework that empowers communities to designate and manage marine and terrestrial protected areas.
- It provides standards, criteria, application processes, technical and sustainable financial assistance for management and monitoring of sites.
- The Republic of Palau created an independent non-profit organization to serve as a financial trustee of the monies obtained to support the PAN to manage the funds from donations and arrival fees. This non-profit organization is called the PAN Fund (PANF). Surveys showed that no-take Marine Protected Areas had, on average, nearly twice the biomass of resource fishes (i.e. those important commercially, culturally, or for subsistence) compared to nearby unprotected areas. Biomass of non-resource fishes showed no differences between no-take areas and areas open to fishing. The most striking difference between no-take MPAs and unprotected areas was the more than 5-fold greater biomass of piscivorous fishes in the MPAs compared to fished areas. The most important determinates of no-take MPA success in conserving resource fish biomass were MPA size and years of protection. Habitat and distance from shore had little effect on resource fish biomass. The extensive network of MPAs in Palau likely provides important conservation and tourism benefits to the Republic and may also provide fisheries benefits by protecting spawning aggregation sites, and potentially through adult spill over.[1]
- Conservation in Palau has evolved from the traditional “bul” to more western Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). The government of Palau was instrumental in establishing the Micronesia Challenge – a conservation initiative to protect >30% of the marine ecosystems of the region by 2020 through the establishment of local Protected Areas Network (PAN).[2]
- Currently, there are 35 MPAs throughout Palau, encompassing all major habitat types, ranging from nearshore mangroves and seagrass beds to offshore coral reefs, with > 45% of the country’s nearshore waters under some form of protection. These MPAs range in management from complete no-take to subsistence fishing only, and not all are included in the PAN.[3]
- The people of Palau and other tropical island nations rely heavily on coral reefs for the eco-system services they provide, such as protection from storms, food provisioning, perpetuation of cultural practices, and revenue from tourism. Palau is one of the world’s top dive destinations, with tourists coming to experience its high biodiversity and unique marine eco- systems. In recent years, tourism has contributed roughly three quarters of GDP growth, more than 80% of exports of goods and services, 15% of total tax revenue, and 40% of total employment. [4]
- Since December 2020 Visitors are required to sign an environmental pledge upon arrival, which asks them to act in an ‘ecologically and culturally responsible way’.
- Due to local and global threats, coral reefs are becoming increasingly degraded worldwide, necessitating better conservation and management measures. MPAs have proven to be an effective ecosystem-based management tool to conserve biodiversity and manage fisheries. By protecting populations, habitats, and ecosystems within their borders, no-take MPAs provide a spatial refuge for the entire ecological system they contain and provide a powerful buffer against anthropogenic effects and natural variability. In addition to resource management, MPAs also contribute to the long-term livelihoods of island people through the strong cultural and economic connections between islanders and the sea, as well as their interdependence on a healthy marine environment for survival and prosperity. [5]
- Palau generates substantial income from tourism. A recent economic study in Palau showed that divers would be willing to pay more for diving in no-take MPAs because of more and larger fish.
- Palau was the first country to address the global decline in shark populations by declaring its entire exclusive economic zone 629,000 square kilometres a shark sanctuary. To protect sharks and the ecosystems they support, commercial shark fishing has been outlawed, and no sharks are permitted on board boats; bycatch must be released alive.
- However, a major point of notice is that in the 27 PNC (Palau National Code – this is Title 27 of the PNC) which is the title that contains most of the laws relating to marine protection and fisheries management in Palau, does not include commissions for a Shark Sanctuary; nor does it contain the language or paragraphs contained in the original Senate Bill 8-105 (the proposed Shark Haven Act).
- The value of live sharks in the water brings in $1.9 million to Palau’s economy through dive tourism, compared to $10,800 if these sharks were killed for sale. These results suggest that greater levels of protection may bring greater economic revenue to Palau and could provide a model for other Pacific islands. [6]
- While in the ecosystem health of Palau’s MPAs are likely below historical baselines, they represent a step in the right direction towards recovery of the marine ecosystem, which is so critical to Palau and its people. The creation of the Palau National Marine Sanctuary protects ~500,000 km2 of its offshore waters, representing 80% of the country’s EEZ. The protection provided by this new, large MPA around Palau could support increased diving tourism revenues, improve local fisheries, and ensure the long-term sustainability of marine resources. [7]
- Although it is strictly prohibited to catch any living beings inhabiting reef areas, any species collected for research purposes, or collected as gametes, or bred in captivity at an aquaculture or mariculture farm by a person licensed by the minister, may possess, sell or export no matter the amount, taken, or reintroduced to the wild.
[1],[2],[3],[4],[5],[6],[7] Friedlander AM, Golbuu Y, Ballesteros E, Caselle JE, Gouezo M, Olsudong D, et al. (2017) Size, age, and habitat determine effectiveness of Palau’s Marine Protected Areas. PLoS ONE 12(3)