Interior Provides $635,885 for Natural and Cultural Resources Protection in Micronesia Region

WASHINGTON, D.C. (July 21, 2017) – Interior Acting Assistant Secretary for Insular Areas Nikolao Pula has made available $635,885 for natural and cultural resource protection for all U.S. island jurisdictions in the Micronesia region.

“It is reassuring to see the range of initiatives we have been able to support with this funding, from managing fisheries that support people’s livelihoods to suppressing the impacts of the damaging Coconut Rhinoceros Beetle and Little Fire Ant,” said Pula. “We are happy to support and bolster the collaborative efforts of conservation-minded leaders across the Micronesia region.”

CHUUK, MICRONESIA

The Nature Conservancy Micronesia will receive $93,600 to pilot a community-based fisheries management program on Oneisomw Island in the Chuuk Lagoon and address a decline in fisheries due to overfishing and damage of coral reef habitats.  Chuuk has only 2% of its marine resources designated as no-take areas, the lowest among the four states in the Federated States of Micronesia.  Chuuk has suffered from challenges such as overfishing, land-based pollution, the lack of a statewide approach to management, and a lack of capacity for resource planning.  This project is in line with the Micronesia Challenge, a shared commitment by the chief executives of Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau to effectively conserve at least 30% of near-shore marine and 20% of terrestrial resources across the Micronesia region by 2020, and shared recognition that the future of the islands depends on the viability of their marine and terrestrial environments.

MICRONESIA REGION (GUAM, CNMI, PALAU, RMI AND FSM)

The Micronesia Conservation Trust (MCT) will receive $127,400 to fund the participation of one conservation officer from each of the Micronesian island jurisdictions in the Micronesia Challenge to participate in the first course scheduled for 2017 at the Marine-Terrestrial Conservation Enforcement Academy at the Guam Community College (GCC).  Through this MCT-GCC collaboration conservation officers across the region will be trained in safety procedures and how to approach and apprehend alleged violators as well as prepare reports that can stand up in court.  The MCT, which serves as the financing mechanism for the Micronesia Challenge Endowment Fund, is a regional organization supporting biodiversity conservation and related sustainable development for the people of Micronesia in the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of Palau, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the U.S. Territories of Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.

“We at the Micronesia Conservation Trust appreciate the trust and confidence that the Office of Insular Affairs has placed in us by providing this funding,” said Willy Kostka, MCT Executive Director.  “We have since been able to secure matching funds:  $15,000 from the FSM Congress, $25,600 from the USAID Climate Ready Project, and $64,000 from the U.S. Forest Service Pacific [Terrestrial] Island Ecosystem Management, and can now train more than one person per jurisdiction.  The first course begins on Monday, July 24th with 16 participants and ends on the 4th of October."

REPUBLIC OF PALAU

Ridge to Reefs, a non-profit organization, is granted $100,000 to work with the Belau Watershed Alliance, the Palau Conservation Society and other local and community partners on Palau to address increases in growth and development around the main island of Babeldaob since completion of the circumferential Compact Road.  Stakeholders are expected to address concerns such as soil erosion and sediment transport impacting the coasts and coral reefs, degraded savannahs, and impacts of unsustainable agricultural practices.

GUAM AND PALAU

The University of Guam will also receive $176,553 to fund a post-doctoral entomologist for two years and supplement existing work to administer Oryctes nudivirus, the biological control agent of choice against the Coconut Rhinocerous Beetle (CRB), Oryctes rhinoceros.  This has typically reduced damage by up to 90% with population suppression lasting indefinitely.  The CRB has been rapidly killing coconut trees in Guam and Palau.  Ideal CRB breeding sites are in decaying vegetation, often left in the wake of tropical storms and typhoons.  Without significant suppression, it is believed both Guam and Palau will lose most of their coconut trees and that it will only be a matter of time before other islands in Micronesia are invaded by the CRB. 

GUAM

The University of Guam (UOG) College of Natural and Applied Sciences will receive $63,816 to purchase supplies and equipment necessary to eradicate the little fire ant (LFA), Wasmannia auropunctata, from selected forest sites on Guam using techniques adapted from successful LFA mitigation projects in Hawaii.  In cooperation with the UOG Cooperative Extension Services, entemologists will also train technical workers to recognize and control LFA infestations.

Guam’s Department of Agriculture will receive $74,516 to start up a training and outreach program for the prevention, control and management of the little fire ant (LFA), Wasmannia auropunctata, infestation on Guam.  Funds will provide for equipment and supplies, personnel training, a new website dedicated to LFA control, and workshops to encourage and engage the public in the control and management of this pest.  An LFA infestation was first found at a green-waste site on the northern tip of Guam in 2011, and there are now over 20 widely dispersed infestation sites on the island.  Other infestations of the LFA have been found in Hawaii and other islands of Polynesia further south, including Australia.  The LFA has caused ecological disruption in Guam’s forests and other areas on Guam.  It is feared that if unchecked, the LFA will cause further disruptions to Guam’s ecosystem and spread to other islands in the Micronesia region.

The three aforementioned initiatives support efforts to control the Coconut Rhinoceros Beetle and the Little Fire Ant and align with the 2015 Biosecurity Plan for Hawaii and Micronesia.  These two invasive species pose significant challenges to regional ecosystems and present both health and economic risks to communities in the Pacific.  These specific initiatives were able to be funded because a one-time appropriation add-on of $250,000 made available by the U.S. Congress in the FY 2017 budget towards these eradication efforts and to augment capacity building within the insular areas in the management of natural and cultural resources.  At the 22^nd Micronesian Islands Forum in May 2017, island leaders, including Guam Governor Eddie Calvo, identified invasive species and specifically the Coconut Rhinoceros Beetle, as one of the most important threats to island communities, economics, environments and human health.

All funding for cultural and natural resources protection and management was provided under what was formerly called the Coral Reef Initiative and is available under CFDA# 15.875 at https://www.grants.gov/. All four U.S. territories of the U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands as well as the three freely associated states of the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau are eligible to apply.

Discretionary funding provided by the Office of Insular Affairs in the Department of the Interior is appropriated annually by the U.S. Congress to help address needs in the U.S. Insular Areas.

The Secretary of the Interior is responsible for coordinating federal policy with respect to the territories of the U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and administering and overseeing U.S. federal assistance provided to the freely associated states of the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau under the Compacts of Free Association. On behalf of the Secretary, the Assistant Secretary for Insular Areas executes these responsibilities through the Office of Insular Affairs whose mission is to foster economic opportunities, promote government efficiency, and improve the quality of life for the people of the insular areas.

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