Engaging Chuuk stakeholders in PAN spatial planning workshop
(Chuuk, FSM) With
the recent enactment of the Chuuk State Protected Areas Network (PAN) Law, it
was most timely for the PAN spatial planning to take off in Chuuk from Oct. 30th
to Nov. 1st 2017. The Nature Conservancy along with partners from
the University of Guam, James Cook University, and the Chuuk Conservation
Society led a 3-day workshop that was well attended by over 70 participants
including the mayors from almost every municipality within Chuuk lagoon and
some from the out-laying islands. The participants were very engaged, asked
great questions and were eager to learn more about how they can set up
protected areas within their municipalities. Discussions also revolved around
how to implement fisheries management in Chuuk which generated great interest
by the participants to pursue further. A Marxan analysis (a conservation ranking
tool) will be produced as a result of the workshop and provided to the Chuuk
stakeholders to help inform on the best ways to design their protected areas
for maximum benefits for fishing. Workshop results will also be utilized by the
Chuuk Division of Marine Resources and the Chuuk Conservation Society in
devising next steps for the ongoing GEF Ridge to Reef project for Chuuk State
which is currently working in prioritized sites for Chuuk.
For more information on the workshop results, you may
contact Liz Terk at eterk@tnc.org or Marz
Akapito at markapito@gmail.com.
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| Chuuk PAN Spatial Planning group photo, October 2017 |
