Island leaders discuss sustainable economy, environment at UOG CIS conference

President Surangel S. Whipps Jr., Palau, and Gov. Arnold I. Palacios, Northern Mariana Islands, agree that communities must manage resources wisely to benefit people and the local economy while also protecting the environment for future generations to use and enjoy.

The two were keynote speakers on April 11 and 12, respectively, for the 15th University of Guam Conference on Island Sustainability at the Hyatt Regency Guam.

Whipps also spoke about Palau’s new Compact Review Agreement, an $889 million economic package signed in 2023 after about two years of negotiations with the U.S. on the economic section of the Palau-U.S. Compact of Free Association. The agreement helps support Palau’s health, education and public safety and for the first time includes climate change.

The president said the inclusion of climate change will help as the nation works to build a hospital, schools and infrastructure that can survive the impacts of a warmer temperatures including increased typhoons and inundation from rising sea levels.

The defense section of the Compact remains unchanged in that the U.S. “may establish and use defense sites in Palau” for military use and has full authority to deny other nations’ the use of Palau for military exercises.

The economic package is for the next 20 years and includes funding assistance for a new hospital, infrastructure and maintenance, the return of the Peace Corps, the start of services for U.S. military veterans living in Palau, and the continuation of needed programs like the postal service.

Another climate-related challenge Palau faces is the warming temperatures are causing the disappearance of the stingless golden jellyfish, found in a lake on a southern rock island. Also, like Guam, their reefs have seen coral bleaching in record numbers. Efforts like the Marine Spatial Planning aims to support studies of Palau’s waters to determine how to protect and use the ocean within their EEZ.
 
“Our goal in Palau is to optimize the use of our resources and balance protection and production to ensure our future generations can continue to fish and farm,” Whipps said, adding that too often the indigenous people are often left behind even as businesses are profiting off their land and oceans.

Whipps said Palau launched the Palau Green Growth Initiative and Dashboard in February “as a way to help us ensure that as a government we ensure that A Kot A Rechad Er Belau, in other words, the goal of the Palauan government is to promote the well-being and prosperity of the people of Palau.”  He thanked Austin Shelton, director for UOG Center for Island Sustainability and Sea Grant, and the Green Growth teams in Guam and Hawaii for their assistance.

Palacios said typhoons and the recent pandemic showed “our weaknesses” and the existential threat of climate change only highlights the areas where improvement is necessary.

“We need balance … and we want and need technology and sciences to solve modern problems and improve our lives,” Palacios said. “We also need the indigenous traditions and wisdoms that have sustained our communities and our societies and our people for generations.”

In line with this year’s conference theme Palacios added in order to “survive and thrive as a people in this community, we have to learn to live in harmony with our environment.”

The theme for this year’s Conference of Island Sustainability was Sustainability Endures, Shelton said. He explained the focus of the theme “calls for continued dedication to the future of the entire world.” mbj