“Nature always wears the colors of the spirit” – EMERSON Ecoregional Planning: Developing a Blueprint for Biodiversity Conservation in Micronesia Bill Raynor Micronesia Program Director US Coral Reef Task Force Meeting, Oct. 3, 2003, Saipan, CNMI

ECOREGIONAL PLANNING CONSERVATION AREA PLANNING MEASURES OF SUCCESS STRATEGIES & ACTIONS Conservation by Design (Single- & multi-area)

Steps of Ecoregional Planning 1.Determine the region of interest. ECOREGION 2.Define the representative ecosystems, natural communities, and selected species that should be conserved. CONSERVATION TARGETS 3.Delineate the healthiest examples of these ecosystems, communities, and species. VIABLE OCCURRENCES 4.Decide on how many examples of these ecosystems, communities, and species need to be conserved. GOALS 5.Determine the areas that capture the most and best examples of these ecosystems, communities, and species. AREAS OF BIOLOGICAL SIGNIFICANCE 6.Determine which of these areas are of highest priority to conserve. ACTION AREAS 7.Develop actions that will help to conserve many areas of biological significance. MULTI-AREA STRATEGIES

Why Ecoregional Planning? Planning at regional scales rather than specific sites allows for conservation of a full range of biodiversity Many key threats operate at multi-site scale Coordinated efforts can facilitate partnerships and increase strategic use of conservation resources (strategic vs. opportunistic, proactive vs. reactive)

Step 1 - SELECT ECOREGION

Federated States of Micronesia An island nation in the western Pacific An archipelago of 607 islands (271 sq. miles of land) 2,700 sq. miles of lagoons and coral reefs spread across 1,000,000 sq. miles of ocean

Background FSM National Government received UNDP-GEF assistance to do their National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP) TNC was undergoing a national/regional expansion, and needed to do Ecoregional Planning FSM NBSAP Task Force adopted the ecoregional planning effort State BSAP teams assisted with ecoregional planning process as experts and advisors

Step 2 - CONSERVATION TARGETS Upland broadleaf forest Lowland broadleaf forest Montane cloud forest Fern/Sedge Savanna Limestone forest Ivory nut palm forest Clinostigma palm forest Terrestrial Ecosystems High island nearshore marine (coral reefs, lagoons, sea grass, etc.) Atoll nearshore marine Atoll/Beach forest Atoll inland mangrove High island mangrove Marine Ecosystems Chuuk flying fox Pohnpei short-earred owl Giant Micronesian gecko Manta ray Turtle nesting beaches Giant clams Selected Species Freshwater stream Terminalia swamp forest Riparian forest Montane perched Freshwater swamp Coastal freshwater marsh Freshwater & Wetland Ecosystems

Step 3 -VIABLE OCCURRENCES How big? How fragmented? What % agriculture? How many invasives? Upland Broadleaf Forest How big? Water quality? Intact watershed? Resilience? Connectivity? High Island Nearshore Marine

FSM Data Gaps Inshore marine systems/communities - lack of updated maps and health/viability data Outer islands - lack presence and health/viability data Open ocean - over all lack of data Submerged reefs - little data on biodiversity and health/viability Marine Species - lack updated surveys

Step 4 - GOALS How much is enough?

Step 5 - AREAS OF BIOLOGICAL SIGNIFICANCE Pick places that are the most HEALTHY Pick places that capture the MOST number of ecosystems, communities & species Pick places RESISTANT to large scale threats such as bleaching Pick sites that have CONNECTIVITY

l Biological Value Number/diversity of targets Health or integrity l Urgency of threat l Feasibility l Leverage Step 6 - ACTION AREAS

Meeting conservation goals  100% (4 out of 4 total) of marine system targets  100% (4 out of 4 total) of special ecological target species  100% (3 out of 3 total) of marine target species targets  100% (2 out of 2 total) of freshwater/aquatic species targets

Step 7 - Multi-Area Strategies Strategies must respond to key marine threats: Overfishing- 50% of ABS sites Coastal Erosion/Sea Level Rise - 26% Water pollution - 16% Destructive harvesting - 15% Erosion and sedimentation - 12%

Partnerships FSM National Government (NBSAP Task Force, Dept. of Economic Affairs, NORMA) Kosrae, Pohnpei, Yap, and Chuuk States NGOs - CSP, KCSO, GATA,YESC College Of Micronesia - FSM UNDP-GEF Regional Universities (UoG, UH) US Federal Programs (DOI, USFS, USDA-NRCS, NOAA) The Nature Conservancy

Other Linkages Micronesia Conservation Trust - “location in an ABS site” as grant criteria Micronesia Leaders in Island Conservation - focus on leaders and organizations working at ABS sites Compact Environment Sector - provide funding for recurrent activities (e.g., protected areas management/enforcement) focussed in ABS sites

Benefits of Linking ERP to NBSAP Government and community ownership of ecoregional plan (shared “map of success”) Focus all stakeholders on priority sites, species, and long-term biological viability Build partnerships to deal with multi-site threats Increased strategic use of limited conservation resources High visibility to potential donors