KOROR – Palau will develop partnerships with a number of charitable foundations and other groups to help the country with the implementation of the newly-created Palau National Marine Sanctuary (PNMS).

The necessary red tape to create the sanctuary was signed into law by President Tommy Remengesau on Wednesday this week.

In a letter to Senator Mason Whipps, Palau’s Minister Umiich Sengebau of the Ministry of Natural Resources, Environment, and Tourism has discussed potential transition partnerships that Palau will have to enter with regards to implementing the sanctuary.

“On behalf of President Remengesau I write to follow-up regarding potential transition partnerships for the Palau National Marine Sanctuary.

“As you know the PNMS was designed to include a five year transition period that will allow us to phase our foreign commercial fishing, create a domestic fishing zone for our fishermen, and scale-up our monitoring, control and surveillance capabilities,” he said.

Sengebau noted that partnerships with foundations and others are key to the success of the PNMS.

“In order for this transition to be a success we will develop partnerships with charitable foundations and others to assist Palau with implementation of the PNMS,” he stated.

“There are several donors who primarily fund ocean conservation work, particularly no-take marine reserves, who we intend to approach.

“As you know, Ocean 5 has offered Palau an opportunity to submit a funding proposal to its board of directors, whose next meeting is scheduled for mid-November,” he said.

Oceans 5 was founded in early 2011 by four partners who share a commitment to protecting the world’s five oceans. Since then the group have supported twelve conservation projects.

Oceans 5 partners include the Oak Foundation, Planet Heritage Foundation, Waitt Foundation, Marisla Foundation, Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation, Moore Charitable Foundation, Angell Family Foundation and Bill and Shannon Joy.

According to Sengebau, Oceans 5 and its founding partner, the Waitt Foundation, are responsible for finalising the Phoenix Islands Protected Area (PIPA) in Kiribati, which was closed to all fishing in January this year.

Oceans 5 is reportedly funding the Kiribati project with a $2.5 million grant over a five year period.

According to Sengebau, the Waitt Foundation is matching that amount for a total of $5 million that will help ensure PIPA is properly managed and enforced.

“We intent to seek a similar relationship with Oceans 5 and have a draft proposal that will be finalised shortly,” Sengebau said.

“As you know, The Pew Charitable Trusts’ Global Ocean Legacy project has worked with Palau over the past two years to develop the PNMS proposal, legal justification, public education campaign, fishermen outreach, and international support at Our Oceans and other important venues,” he added.

Sengebau stated that the Global Ocean Legacy has already committed significant resources to the PNMS and is prepared to invest up to $500,000 over the next three years to assist with pelagic biomass research important for PNA negotiations, development of a business plan for Palau’s fishermen to utilize the Domestic Fishing Zone, and other assistance that will be agreed to in the coming weeks.

Global Ocean Legacy is a partnership established in 2006 to promote the creation of marine reserves in the world’s oceans.

Current partners include The Pew Charitable Trusts, Bloomberg Philanthropies, the Lyda Hill Foundation, the Oak Foundation, the Robertson Foundation, The Tiffany & Co Foundation and the Waitt Foundation.

“There are other donors in addition to the above listed foundations who we will approach about transition partnerships including the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation and the Bertarelli Foundation, who participated in the Our Oceans Conference in Chile recently,” Sengebau pointed out.

He said that he thinks other foundations will crop up given the exposure the PNMS has provided Palau on the international stage.

“While we do not envision each of these foundations’ becoming a transition partner, we are confident that we can develop a series of proposals and commitments that will guarantee a successful transition. This of course assumes timely passage of the PNMS,” he concluded.

- Island Times