Story Highlights
- The ‘2019 State of the Environment Report’ states that Palau has responded well to pressures facing shallow coral reefs, and continues to improve its response.
- The report describes trends among key natural resources and environmental programmes, and analyzes their most recent “conditions and grades” in relation to local and global goals.
Palau’s National Environmental Protection Council (NEPC) has issued a report on the state of the environment in the country. The report shows that most of the shallow coral reefs of Palau are in good condition, and reveals “overwhelmingly positive” trends.
The ‘2019 State of the Environment Report’ (SOE) describes trends among key natural resources and environmental programmes, and analyzes their most recent “conditions and grades” in relation to local and global goals. Of the 15 unique indicators assessed across habitat, depth, and location, 67% were in “good condition,” and of the 18 unique indicators with adequate information to see a trend, 83% showed positive trends. Exceptions to the positive trends are shallow reef areas on the East Coast of the country which are taking longer to recover from damage caused by typhoons in 2012 and 2013.