The Republic of Palau's National Environmental Management Strategy (NEMS) was officially launched on Thursday 25th May 2023 by the Hon. Steven Victor, Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Environment and the Chairman of the Palau National Environment Protection Council. It was attended by officials of government agencies and key stakeholders involved in the NEMS process, as well as SPREP staff.
In his remarks, the Hon Minister said “After 29 years, the Palau Government through the MAFE, the NEPC, in consultation with other Government agencies and working groups developed the 2022-2030 NEMS. Palau has made great strides in environmental management, chief among them a suite of sustainably managed protected areas, diverse community conservation initiatives, world class marine research, and systems of cross-sector coordination and accountability”.
The Republic of Palau NEMS 2022-2030 highlights interrelated national policies, environmental actions, and targets in eleven thematic areas and act as an umbrella document that provides a roadmap for addressing Palau’s top environmental concerns in a comprehensive and integrative manner and will contribute to increasingly informed environmental decision-making. The NEMS will assist the Palau Government and other national environment organisations to identify needs and prioritise actions to better manage, protect and restore Palau’s environments that are under pressure as identified by the Palau State of Environmental Report, 2019.
The Deputy Director General of SPREP, Ms Easter Chu Shing in her remarks said” While the region was going through the challenges brought by Covid 19 and competing priorities due to border closure, the MAFE and the NEPC Team showed commitment and continued to work with SPREP to achieve the purpose – the development of the Palau NEMS 2022-2030. SPREP is delighted to be part of the Palau NEMS process and the launch today is timely as the NEMS will inform the Palau Country and Territory Strategic Partnership Framework (CTSPF) which is current being developed to further strengthen SPREP’s engagement in Palau.” Ms. Chu Shing also acknowledged the continued support of the Government of Palau to SPREP and commended Palau’s leadership on environmental protection and conservation in the region.
The launch of the Republic of Palau NEMS also celebrated SPREP’s 30th anniversary since it was established under the Agreement Establishing SPREP to promote cooperation and assistance to protect and improve the environment and to ensure sustainable development for present and future generations.
“I acknowledged the great Partnership the Palau Government had with SPREP in the last 30 years and wishes SPREP and its members a stronger collaboration commitments in sustaining environment and better livelihood for our future generation in the next 30 years”, said Hon. Minister Steven Victor.
The launch of the NEMS was a key activity of the mission by SPREP to the Republic of Palau under the leadership of the SPREP Deputy Director General, Ms. Easter Chu Shing. The SPREP Team was in Palau to continue discussions with key government agencies and stakeholders on the development of the Palau CTSPF, next steps for the implementation of the Palau NEMS, operationalisation of the FRDP, strengthening engagement and support to the SPREP North Pacific Office, including new potential areas for SPREP’s support to Palau.
The SPREP Team to Palau comprised of the Deputy Director General of SPREP Ms. Easter Chu Shing was accompanied by the Acting Manager of the SPREP North Pacific Office, Mr Kilom Ishiguro, Director Environmental Monitoring Governance Programme, Jope Davetanivalu; the Monitoring and Evaluation Adviser, Ms. Rebecca Polestico; and SPREP Support Officer, Ms. Apiseta Eti. The mission was made possible with funding support from the EU ACPMEA3 Programme and Government of Australia.
For more information on the Palau Mission, please contact Jope Davetanivalu ([email protected]); Kilom Ishiguro ([email protected]); or Rebecca Polestico ([email protected]).