Federated States of Micronesia Simon Ellis UHH PACRC MERIP

Background Number of islands: over 600 Number of States: 4 (Kosrae, Pohnpei, Chuuk, Yap) Population: 107,000 Geography: High islands and coral atolls Land mass: 700 km2 EEZ: 2.9 million km2 Language: English and indigenous languages Political status: Independent nation since 1986, freely associated with the U.S.

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Major Environmental Issues Sedimentation – land clearing, invasives Over fishing – COTS, habitat degradation Climate change – coastal erosion Coastal development – land clearing, dredging

Data Collection Coral monitoring Spawning aggregation monitoring MPA monitoring Sedimentation monitoring Weather stations (NOAA) Coastal erosion surveys Forest monitoring

Research Needs Coastal erosion and sea-level rise are critical issues Water pollution both for the environment and human health. Erosion, sedimentation and other impacts arising from economic development and urbanization. Destructive methods, poor practices and overharvesting are affecting both marine and terrestrial environments Dredging and mining is impacting many islands, but particularly the most inhabited islands. Landfills and dumping are issues as waste from imported Western products grows. Sustainable forms of economic development such as eco-tourism, natural products, aquaculture and sustainable agriculture needs more research, education and extension effort. Control of invasive species is required. Promote and facilitate cooperation to effectively implement the NBSAP and Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plans for Chuuk, Yap, Kosrae and Pohnpei. Promote and facilitate technical and scientific cooperation between FSM and other countries, organizations and institutions.