Author Archives: PICRC_admin

300K Italian Grant to Palau

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Government of Italy first to support the Palau National Marine Sanctuary with 300K grant

Since President Tommy E. Remengesau signed into law the Palau National Marine Sanctuary on October 28, 2015, Italy becomes the first nation to support it with a $300,000.00 grant to fund the project, “Establishment of the First Nationwide Sanctuary in Palau: A long-term adaptation response to the impacts of Climate Change on Marine Ecosystems“.  The award was presented to Ambassador Caleb Otto, Palau’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations (UN) by Ambassador Sebastiano Cardi, Italy’s Permanent Representative to the UN, during a short ceremony in the Italian Mission in New York.  The three main components of the project include:  1) Development of a conservation and management strategy based on identified conservation benefits accrued from the Sanctuary and tracking them overtime; 2) Development and finalization of a surveillance and enforcement strategy; and 3) Assessment of the current and projected market needs to plan for the transition towards a domestic fishery as well as explore new potential ecotourism opportunities. read more

Visitor Donates to PICRC

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12 December 2015

 

Mr._William_S._Lovejoy

Palau’s conservation efforts convinced visitor to donate to PICRC

 

A tourist visiting Palau made a $100 donation to the Palau International Coral Reef Center (PICRC) that all started with a conversation with a local taxi driver as he was driven from the airport. After being encouraged by his taxi driver, Mr. William S. Lovejoy visited the Palau Aquarium. He was so moved by Palau’s proactive efforts in protecting its marine resources that he decided to make a contribution to the Center.

Mr. William S. Lovejoy is a professor from University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA. Upon his arrival, Mr. Lovejoy’s taxi driver from the airport had spoken proudly about the Palau Marine Sanctuary and other conservation efforts and told him not to miss out on the opportunity to visit the Palau Aquarium. Mr. Lovejoy’s observation of the Center’s research programs, outreach programs to the community, especially to Palau’s students, and long term coral reef monitoring efforts to help in conservation management was particularly significant to him. read more

TNC donates 10K to PICRC

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7 December 2015

TNCs_Deputy_Director_for_Conservation_Micronesia_Program_Mr._Steven_Victor_presenting_the_10K_donation_to_PICRCs_Developement_Director_Ms._Ilebrang_Olkeriil

TNC donates 10K toward PICRC’s 15th Anniversary Fundraising Gala

The Nature Conservancy (TNC) has generously donated $10,000 to the Palau International Coral Reef Center (PICRC) that will go towards the 15th Anniversary Fundraising Gala. The gala will be held at the Palau Royal Resort on January 21, 2016 under the theme,Transforming Conservation Together. The event will be a joint celebration honoring the collaborative approach in advancing conservation in Palau and the region through partnerships.  The keynote speaker for the event will be Judge Kate Salii. read more

Water Quality Training in Okinawa, Japan

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4 December 2015

PICRC_researcher_Ms._Evelyn_Otto_with_Mr._Victor_Nestor_PICRC_researcher_studying_for_his_Masters_in_Marine_Biology_

PICRC researcher gets specialized training on water quality at the University of the Ryukyus in Okinawa, Japan

Ms. Evelyn Otto, a researcher at the Palau International Coral Reef Center (PICRC) recently returned on a trip from Okinawa, Japan for a special training on water quality measurement. Ms. Otto spent two weeks in Okinawa at a laboratory at the University of Ryukyus (UoR), where she underwent an intensive training on how to conduct water quality analyses. She was supervised by Dr. Haruko Kurihara, a professor at UoR. The trip was made possible with the collaboration of UoR, Palau Community College and PICRC under the Palau Coral Reef Island Ecosystems (P-CoRIE) project funded by Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and Japan Science and Technology (JST) Agency. read more

Impact of Super Typhoons on Coral Reefs in Palau

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1 December 2015


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Sixty percent of live corals in the east coast of Palau were lost after typhoons Bopha and Haiyan, according to new PICRC study

Typhoons generally develop in the warm tropics, but rarely damage coral reefs between the latitudes 10° N and 10° S, an area which includes Palau, because they intensify at higher latitudes. However, climate change is forcing different weather patterns, and is causing typhoons to take less predictable paths. For the first time in 70 years, in December 2012, a super typhoon passed near the island of Angaur. A year later, another super typhoon passed over Kayangel. Both typhoons created waves that Palau’s reefs rarely experienced. These two typhoons devastated the eastern reefs of Palau. read more