ConPro — Northern Reefs Management Area, Ngerchelong, Palau

Project Info

Contact Name:
Umiich Sengebau

Contact the project owner using:
Contact project owner.

ConPro's Form Emailer

Data Effective Date:
February 15, 2009

Sharing Status:
This project may be shared outside of
The Nature Conservancy.

Go To ·Objectives
·Targets
·Threats
·Strategies

Operational Unit(s):

Micronesia

Country(ies):

Palau

Parent Project:

Asia Pacific Marine Micronesia Challenge Program (Parent's Project ID: 1594)

Project Description:
Participated in the 2009 Climate Clinic.

Objectives

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Name
By 2020, all economically important species including food fish are increased by X from current levels.

Targets

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Focal Conservation Target	Target Type	Habitat Type
Food Fish	Species Assemblage: Animals: Aquatic Invertebrates	Benthic :: Coral Reefs
Dive sites and corals	Species Assemblage: Animals: Aquatic Invertebrates	Benthic :: Coral Reefs
Spawning Aggregation Sites	Species Assemblage: Animals: Aquatic Invertebrates	Benthic :: Coral Reefs
Seagrass System	Species Assemblage: Plants	Benthic
Mangrove System	Species Assemblage: Plants	Littoral :: Mangroves
Clams	Single Species: Aquatic Invertebrate	Littoral :: Mud Shorelines and Intertidal Mud Flats
Upland Watershed Forest	Ecological System	Forest :: Subtropical/Tropical Moist Lowland
Cultural & Historical Resources	-	-

Threats

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Threat (Common Taxonomy) ^*	Targets Threatened
Commercial fishing (Biological Resource Use :: Fishing & Harvesting Aquatic Resources )	Food Fish Dive sites and corals Spawning Aggregation Sites Seagrass System Mangrove System Clams
Climate change (Climate Change & Severe Weather :: Habitat Shifting & Alteration )	Food Fish Dive sites and corals Spawning Aggregation Sites Clams
Sedimentation (Pollution :: Agricultural & Forestry Effluents )	Seagrass System Mangrove System
Tourist acitivities (Human Intrusions & Disturbance :: Recreational Activities )	Dive sites and corals Spawning Aggregation Sites
Subsistence fishing (Biological Resource Use :: Fishing & Harvesting Aquatic Resources )	Food Fish Seagrass System Mangrove System Clams
Boating activities (Human Intrusions & Disturbance :: Work & Other Activities )	Spawning Aggregation Sites Seagrass System
Crown of Thorns (Invasive & Other Problematic Species & Genes :: Invasive Non-Native/Alien Species )	Spawning Aggregation Sites
Farming Activities (Agriculture & Aquaculture :: Wood & Pulp Plantations )	Upland Watershed Forest
Human disturbance (Human Intrusions & Disturbance :: Work & Other Activities )	Cultural & Historical Resources
Naural disturbance (Climate Change & Severe Weather :: Habitat Shifting & Alteration )	Cultural & Historical Resources
Ship grounding (Human Intrusions & Disturbance :: Work & Other Activities )	Dive sites and corals
Urban and Commercial Development (Residential & Commercial Development :: Commercial & Industrial Areas )	Upland Watershed Forest

^* For information on the common taxonomy of threats, see http://conservationmeasures.org/CMP/IUCN/.

Strategies

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Strategy (Common Taxonomy)	Threats Addressed
Develop management plan and sustainable financing mechanism ( External Capacity Building :: Conservation Finance )	Human disturbance Crown of Thorns Boating activities Ship grounding Tourist acitivities Subsistence fishing Commercial fishing
Enact enabling legislation of management framework ( Law & Policy :: Legislation )	Human disturbance Boating activities Ship grounding Tourist acitivities Climate change Subsistence fishing Commercial fishing
Establish and strengthen enforcement ( Law & Policy :: Compliance & Enforcement )	Human disturbance Boating activities Ship grounding Tourist acitivities Subsistence fishing Commercial fishing
Establish public outreach program ( Education & Awareness :: Awareness & Communications )	Human disturbance Sedimentation Boating activities Ship grounding Tourist acitivities Subsistence fishing Commercial fishing
Pass regulations to regulate fishing activities ( Law & Policy :: Policies & Regulations )	Human disturbance Boating activities Tourist acitivities Subsistence fishing Commercial fishing

Viability Summary

Conservation Targets		Landscape Context		Condition		Size		Viability Rank
Conservation Targets		Grade	Weight	Grade	Weight	Grade	Weight	Viability Rank
1	Food Fish	-	1.0	Poor	1.0	Fair	1.0	Fair
2	Dive sites and corals	-	1.0	Very Good	1.0	-	1.0	Very Good
3	Spawning Aggregation Sites	-	1.0	Good	1.0	-	1.0	Good
4	Seagrass System	-	1.0	Fair	1.0	Fair	1.0	Fair
5	Mangrove System	-	1.0	Fair	1.0	Fair	1.0	Fair
6	Clams	-	1.0	Poor	1.0	Fair	1.0	Fair
7	Upland Watershed Forest	-	1.0	-	1.0	Very Good	1.0	Very Good
8	Cultural & Historical Resources	-	1.0	Fair	1.0	-	1.0	Fair
Project Biodiversity Health Rank								Good

Threat Summary

Project-specific Threats (Common Taxonomy *)	Clams	Cultural & Historical Resources	Dive sites and corals	Food Fish	Mangrove System	Seagrass System	Spawning Aggregation Sites	Upland Watershed Forest	Overall Threat Rank
Commercial fishing (Fishing & Harvesting Aquatic Resources)	High	-	Low	Very High	Medium	Medium	High	-	High
Climate change (Habitat Shifting & Alteration)	Medium	-	Low	Low	-	-	Medium	-	Medium
Sedimentation (Agricultural & Forestry Effluents)	-	-	-	-	Low	Medium	-	-	Low
Tourist acitivities (Recreational Activities)	-	-	Low	-	-	-	Medium	-	Low
Subsistence fishing (Fishing & Harvesting Aquatic Resources)	Low	-	-	Low	Low	Low	-	-	Low
Boating activities (Work & Other Activities)	-	-	-	-	-	Low	Low	-	Low
Crown of Thorns (Invasive Non-Native/Alien Species)	-	-	-	-	-	-	Low	-	Low
Farming Activities (Wood & Pulp Plantations)	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	Low	Low
Human disturbance (Work & Other Activities)	-	Low	-	-	-	-	-	-	Low
Naural disturbance (Habitat Shifting & Alteration)	-	Low	-	-	-	-	-	-	Low
Ship grounding (Work & Other Activities)	-	-	Low	-	-	-	-	-	Low
Urban and Commercial Development (Commercial & Industrial Areas)	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	Low	Low
Threat Status for Targets and Project	Medium	Low	Low	High	Low	Medium	Medium	Low	Medium

Project Resources

Categories & Measures		Score
People
	Staff Leadership	Medium
	Multidisciplinary Team	Very High
People Average		High
Internal Resources
	Institutional Learning	Very High
	Funding	Low
Internal Resources Average		Medium
External Resources
	Social/Legal Framework for Conservation	Low
	Community and Constituency Support	High
External Resources Average		Medium
Overall Project Resource Rank		Medium

Assessment of Target Viability

Conservation Target	Key Attribute (Category)	Indicator	Current Indicator Measurement	Rating Comments: (Poor, Fair Good Very Good)	Current Rating and Date	Desired Rating and Date
Food Fish	Population structure & recruitment ¹ (Condition)	Abundance of fish ²	-	Poor: 50 or less lbs of fish Fair: 51-99 lbs of fish Good: 100-299 lbs of fish Very Good: 300 lbs of fish or more	Poor ³ Feb 15, 2009	Fair Feb 15, 2014
Food Fish	Species composition / dominance ⁴ (Condition)	Number of fish species ⁵	-	Poor: 7 or less species Fair: 8-10 species Good: 11-19 species Very Good: 20 or more fish species	Fair ⁶ Feb 15, 2009	Good Feb 15, 2012
Food Fish	Population size ⁷ (Size)	Size of fish (keremlal)	-	Poor: Less than 5 Fair: 5-7 inches Good: 8-11 inches Very Good: 12 inches or more	Fair ⁸ Feb 15, 2009	Good Feb 15, 2012
Food Fish	Population size & dynamics ⁹ (Size)	Size of mesekuuk (surgeonfish) ¹⁰	-	Poor: Less than 6 inches Fair: 6-11 inchess Good: 12-17 inches Very Good: 18 inches or more	Fair ¹¹ Feb 15, 2009	Good Feb 15, 2012
Dive sites and corals	Presence / abundance of keystone species ¹² (Condition)	Percentage cover ¹³	-	Poor: Less than 20 percentage Fair: 20-50 Good: 50-70 Very Good: 70-100 percentage cover	Very Good ¹⁴ Feb 15, 2009	Very Good Feb 15, 2009
Dive sites and corals	Species composition of corals ¹⁵ (Condition)	Number of coral genus ¹⁶	-	Poor: Less than 2 coral genus Fair: 3-4 genus Good: 5-9 genus Very Good: 10 or more coral genus	Very Good Feb 15, 2009	Very Good Feb 15, 2009
Spawning Aggregation Sites	Presence / abundance of keystone species ¹⁷ (Condition)	Number of fish species aggregating ¹⁸	-	Poor: Less than 10 species Fair: 11-20 species Good: 21-49 species Very Good: 50 or more species of fish	Good ¹⁹ Feb 15, 2009	Very Good Feb 15, 2012
Seagrass System	Presence / abundance of keystone species ²⁰ (Condition)	Number of economically important species ²¹	-	Poor: 2 or less Fair: 3-5 individuals Good: 6-9 individuals Very Good: 10 or more indiviudals	Fair ²² Feb 15, 2009	Good Feb 15, 2012
Seagrass System	Size / extent of characteristic communities / ecosystems (Size)	Aerial extent ²³	-	Poor: Less than 40% of historical cover Fair: 41%-60% Good: 61-89% Very Good: 90-100% of historical cover	Fair ²⁴ Feb 15, 2009	Good Feb 15, 2012
Mangrove System	Presence / abundance of keystone species ²⁵ (Condition)	Number of economically important species ²⁶	-	Poor: Less than 10 lbs Fair: 11-30 lbs Good: 31-99lbs Very Good: 100 lbs or more	Fair ²⁷ Feb 15, 2009	Good Feb 15, 2012
Mangrove System	Population size & dynamics ²⁸ (Size)	Number of mangrove clams ²⁹	-	Poor: Less than 100 Fair: 100-150 individuals Good: 151-299 individuals Very Good: 300 or more individuals	Fair ³⁰ Feb 15, 2009	Good Feb 15, 2012
Clams	Presence / abundance of keystone species ³¹ (Condition)	Number of clams ³²	-	Poor: 1 or less Fair: 2-5 individuals Good: 6-19 individuals Very Good: 20 or more	Poor ³³ Feb 15, 2009	Fair Feb 15, 2012
Clams	Population size & dynamics ³⁴ (Size)	Size of kism ³⁵	-	Poor: Less than 5 inches Fair: 6-11 inches Good: 12-17 inches Very Good: 18 or more inches	Fair Feb 15, 2009	Good Feb 15, 2014
Upland Watershed Forest	Size / extent of characteristic communities / ecosystems ³⁶ (Size)	Aerial extent ³⁷	-	Poor: Less than 30% Fair: 30-40% Good: 41%-Historical cover Very Good: Historical cover	Very Good Feb 15, 2009	Very Good Feb 15, 2012
Cultural & Historical Resources	Presence / abundance of keystone species ³⁸ (Condition)	Site integrity	-	Poor: Degraded site Fair: Fairly degraded Good: Moderately degraded Very Good: Intact site	Fair Feb 15, 2009	Good Feb 15, 2012

COMMENTS:

¹ Fishermen knowledge and data

² Per day per fisherman Confidence of these indicator rating descriptions: High

³ Fishermen knowledge

⁴ Fishermen perception

⁵ Confidence of these indicator rating descriptions: High

⁶ Fishermen perception Confidence of the current rating: High

⁷ Fishermen perception (for red snapper)

⁸ Fishermen perception Confidence of the current rating: High

⁹ Fishermen perception

¹⁰ Confidence of these indicator rating descriptions: High

¹¹ Fishermen perception Confidence of the current rating: High

¹² PICRC researchers and fishermen

¹³ Researchers Confidence of these indicator rating descriptions: High

¹⁴ Confidence of the current rating: High

¹⁵ Research data

¹⁶ Confidence of these indicator rating descriptions: High

¹⁷ Research data

¹⁸ Confidence of these indicator rating descriptions: High

¹⁹ Research data Confidence of the current rating: High

²⁰ Fishermen perception and data

²¹ Number of individuals per meter square of traditionally known areas.

²² Data and fishermen perception Confidence of the current rating: High

²³ Fishermen perception Confidence of these indicator rating descriptions: High

²⁴ Confidence of the current rating: High

²⁵ Fishermen perception

²⁶ Using mangrove crabs as indicator Confidence of these indicator rating descriptions: High

²⁷ Fishermen and data Confidence of the current rating: High

²⁸ Fishermen perception

²⁹ Per harvest (3 hrs) Confidence of these indicator rating descriptions: High

³⁰ Confidence of the current rating: High

³¹ Fishermen perception

³² Individuals per 800 square feet (Ngerchelong Legislature Room) Confidence of these indicator rating descriptions: Medium

³³ Confidence of the current rating: High

³⁴ Fishermen perception

³⁵ Confidence of these indicator rating descriptions: High

³⁶ Local knowledge

³⁷ Confidence of these indicator rating descriptions: High

³⁸ Local knowledge

Objectives, Strategic Actions and Action Steps

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Strategic Action Measures
Action Steps Measures
Comments

Objective: By 2020, all economically important species including food fish are increased by X from current levels.

Progress	Updated	Comments
Planned	-	-

Strategic Action: Develop management plan and sustainable financing mechanism (measures info)

Action Step: Completion of management plan and apply to PAN

Progress	Updated	Comments
Planned	-	-

Action Step: Recommendations for permit fee structure (measures info)

Action Step: Draft permit fee regulations
Action Step: Implementation of northern reef management plan
Action Step: Implementation of permit regulations

Progress	Updated	Comments
Planned	-	-

Strategic Action: Enact enabling legislation of management framework (measures info)

Progress	Updated	Comments
Planned	-	-

Action Step: Draft and pass enabling legislation (measures info)

Progress	Updated	Comments
On Track	-	-

Action Step: Identify other areas for protection (measures info)

Progress	Updated	Comments
Planned	-	-

Action Step: Gather and collate information to be submitted to Governor and Legislature (measures info)

Progress	Updated	Comments
Planned	-	-

Strategic Action: Establish and strengthen enforcement (measures info)

Action Step: Enforcement operational plan
Action Step: Hire and train enforcement officers

Progress	Updated	Comments
Planned	-	-

Action Step: Explore options for enforcement office and establish office (measures info)

Progress	Updated	Comments
Planned	-	-

Strategic Action: Establish public outreach program (measures info)

Progress	Updated	Comments
Planned	-	-

Action Step: Establish office (measures info)

Action Step: hire education officer
Action Step: operational plan

Strategic Action: Pass regulations to regulate fishing activities (measures info)

Progress Updated Comments

Planned - -
- Action Step: Implement boat registration
- Action Step: implement fishing licenses
- Action Step: Regulate fishing activities

Progress	Updated	Comments
Planned	-	-

Strategy Effectiveness

Show all:
Comments
Objective Measures
Indicator Methods
Indicator Measures
Progress Reports

Percent Complete: 0%

Objective: By 2020, all economically important species including food fish are increased by X from current levels.

Indicator: Abundance of fish

Measure	Date	Source	Trend	Comments
	Feb 15, 2009		Not Specified	Fishermen knowledge

(methods) (measurement report) (progress report)

Indicator: Number of clams

Measure	Date	Source	Trend	Comments
	Feb 15, 2009		Not Specified	Confidence of the current rating: High

(methods) (measurement report) (progress report)

Indicator: Number of economically important species

(methods) (measurement report) (progress report)

Measurement Report:

Measure	Date	Trend	Comments
Target: Seagrass System, Category: Condition, KEA: Presence / abundance of keystone species
	Feb 15, 2009	Not Specified	Data and fishermen perception Confidence of the current rating: High
Target: Mangrove System, Category: Condition, KEA: Presence / abundance of keystone species
	Feb 15, 2009	Not Specified	Fishermen and data Confidence of the current rating: High

Progress	Updated	Comments
Target: Seagrass System, Category: Condition, KEA: Presence / abundance of keystone species
Planned
Target: Mangrove System, Category: Condition, KEA: Presence / abundance of keystone species
Planned

Indicator: Number of fish species

Measure	Date	Source	Trend	Comments
	Feb 15, 2009		Not Specified	Fishermen perception Confidence of the current rating: High

(measurement report)

Indicator: Percentage cover

Measure	Date	Source	Trend	Comments
	Feb 15, 2009		Not Specified	Confidence of the current rating: High

(methods) (measurement report) (progress report)

Indicator: Size of fish (keremlal)

Measure	Date	Source	Trend	Comments
	Feb 15, 2009		Not Specified	Fishermen perception Confidence of the current rating: High

(measurement report)

Indicator: Size of mesekuuk (surgeonfish)

Measure	Date	Source	Trend	Comments
	Feb 15, 2009		Not Specified	Fishermen perception Confidence of the current rating: High

(measurement report)

All Monitoring Indicators

Show all:
Methods
Measurement Report
Progress Reports
Objectives
Target KEA Refs
Target Threat Refs
Other Refs

Indicator: Abundance of fish
(methods) (measurement report) (progress report) (objectives) (target kea refs)

Methods:

belt transect (measure for biomass of selected species), CPUE (local fishermen catch)

Measurement Report:

Measure	Date	Source	Trend	Comments
	Feb 15, 2009			Fishermen knowledge

Progress Report:

Progress	Updated	Comment
On Track

Objectives:

By 2020, all economically important species including food fish are increased by X from current levels.

Key Attribute

Food Fish
- Condition: Population structure & recruitment

Indicator: Aerial extent
(measurement report) (target kea refs)

Measurement Report:

Measure	Date	Comments
Target: Upland Watershed Forest, Category: Size, KEA: Size / extent of characteristic communities / ecosystems
	Feb 15, 2009
Target: Seagrass System, Category: Size, KEA: Size / extent of characteristic communities / ecosystems
	Feb 15, 2009	Confidence of the current rating: High

Key Attribute

Seagrass System
- Size: Size / extent of characteristic communities / ecosystems
Upland Watershed Forest
- Size: Size / extent of characteristic communities / ecosystems

Indicator: Fishing law
(other refs)

Others:

Indicator: Number of clams
(methods) (measurement report) (progress report) (objectives) (target kea refs)

Methods:

100 sq. meter plot (belt transect, circular plot, rectangular plot)

Measurement Report:

Measure	Date	Source	Trend	Comments
	Feb 15, 2009			Confidence of the current rating: High

Progress Report:

Progress	Updated	Comment
Planned

Objectives:

By 2020, all economically important species including food fish are increased by X from current levels.

Key Attribute

Clams
- Condition: Presence / abundance of keystone species

Indicator: Number of coral genus
(measurement report) (target kea refs)

Measurement Report:

Measure	Date	Source	Trend	Comments
	Feb 15, 2009

Key Attribute

Dive sites and corals
- Condition: Species composition of corals

Indicator: Number of economically important species
(methods) (measurement report) (progress report) (objectives) (target kea refs)

Methods:

100 sq. meter plot (circular, rectangular, belt transect) for seagrass systems; mangrove systems (mangrove clams 1 meter sq.)

Measurement Report:

Measure	Date	Comments
Target: Seagrass System, Category: Condition, KEA: Presence / abundance of keystone species
	Feb 15, 2009	Data and fishermen perception Confidence of the current rating: High
Target: Mangrove System, Category: Condition, KEA: Presence / abundance of keystone species
	Feb 15, 2009	Fishermen and data Confidence of the current rating: High

Progress Report:

Progress	Updated	Comment
Target: Seagrass System, Category: Condition, KEA: Presence / abundance of keystone species
Planned
Target: Mangrove System, Category: Condition, KEA: Presence / abundance of keystone species
Planned

Objectives:

By 2020, all economically important species including food fish are increased by X from current levels.

Key Attribute

Mangrove System
- Condition: Presence / abundance of keystone species
Seagrass System
- Condition: Presence / abundance of keystone species

Indicator: Number of fish species
(measurement report) (objectives) (target kea refs)

Measurement Report:

Measure	Date	Source	Trend	Comments
	Feb 15, 2009			Fishermen perception Confidence of the current rating: High

Objectives:

By 2020, all economically important species including food fish are increased by X from current levels.

Key Attribute

Food Fish
- Condition: Species composition / dominance

Indicator: Number of fish species aggregating
(measurement report) (target kea refs)

Measurement Report:

Measure	Date	Source	Trend	Comments
	Feb 15, 2009			Research data Confidence of the current rating: High

Key Attribute

Spawning Aggregation Sites
- Condition: Presence / abundance of keystone species

Indicator: Number of mangrove clams
(measurement report) (target kea refs)

Measurement Report:

Measure	Date	Source	Trend	Comments
	Feb 15, 2009			Confidence of the current rating: High

Key Attribute

Mangrove System
- Size: Population size & dynamics

Indicator: Percentage cover
(methods) (measurement report) (progress report) (objectives) (target kea refs)

Methods:

Photo quadrat

Measurement Report:

Measure	Date	Source	Trend	Comments
	Feb 15, 2009			Confidence of the current rating: High

Progress Report:

Progress	Updated	Comment
Planned

Objectives:

By 2020, all economically important species including food fish are increased by X from current levels.

Key Attribute

Dive sites and corals
- Condition: Presence / abundance of keystone species

Indicator: Site integrity
(measurement report) (target kea refs)

Measurement Report:

Measure	Date	Source	Trend	Comments
	Feb 15, 2009

Key Attribute

Cultural & Historical Resources
- Condition: Presence / abundance of keystone species

Indicator: Size of fish (keremlal)
(measurement report) (objectives) (target kea refs)

Measurement Report:

Measure	Date	Source	Trend	Comments
	Feb 15, 2009			Fishermen perception Confidence of the current rating: High

Objectives:

By 2020, all economically important species including food fish are increased by X from current levels.

Key Attribute

Food Fish
- Size: Population size

Indicator: Size of kism
(measurement report) (target kea refs)

Measurement Report:

Measure	Date	Source	Trend	Comments
	Feb 15, 2009

Key Attribute

Clams
- Size: Population size & dynamics

Indicator: Size of mesekuuk (surgeonfish)
(measurement report) (objectives) (target kea refs)

Measurement Report:

Measure	Date	Source	Trend	Comments
	Feb 15, 2009			Fishermen perception Confidence of the current rating: High

Objectives:

By 2020, all economically important species including food fish are increased by X from current levels.

Key Attribute

Food Fish
- Size: Population size & dynamics

Northern Reefs Management Area, Ngerchelong, Palau (ID: 1491)

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