Managers

Forestry is generally a state responsibility with state governments responsible for regional development. Organizational structures vary between states. On Pohnpei, for example the Department of Resources Management and Development (DRMD) has responsibility for agriculture, forestry and fisheries activities. Forestry issues are dealt with by the Office of Agriculture and Forestry within the DRMD. Pohnpei, Chuuk and Yap each have their own Environmental Protection Agency which reviews environmental impact statements, monitors water quality and is involved with pollution control and clean-up. Municipal government exists at the village level. A council of chiefs has the right to review and veto any legislation affecting tradition and customs. Municipalities also have official responsibility for licensing and controlling cutting of mangrove forests. The Yap Institute of Natural Science is involved in forestry and natural resource management research and extension activities. The College of Micronesia has also been involved in environmental and agroforestry research and extension.

The Constitution of the FSM bars any non-citizen or corporations not wholly owned by citizens, from acquiring title to land in Micronesia. On Pohnpei, the government has set aside large areas of interior land (including forests) for watershed conservation areas, which are now owned by the state. On Kosrae, the government also owns much of the interior land, while in Yap and Chuuk most land is privately owned and often managed by family groups or trusts.

Public participation in forest management

The formalization of community-based forest management in the FSM had its genesis in the enactment of the Pohnpei Watershed Forest Reserve and Mangrove Protection Act of 1987. This Act designated some 5 000 hectares of upland forest as a protected area under government management. Government officials in boundary survey teams were, however, confronted by armed villagers, who saw the Act as a government land grab in direct conflict with traditional user rights. This resistance led to the establishment of a stakeholder taskforce (the Watershed Steering Committee) in 1990 to initiate a watershed education and negotiation programme. This led to an agreement that clan chiefs must be participatory partners in management processes and that environmentally sustainable management must be extended beyond the watershed reserve to encompass the entire island. A marked shift away from the centralized Act has seen the implementation of a five-year Watershed Management Strategy, which establishes participatory natural resource planning programmes in each local community. Community action plans are being developed to set out each community¿s vision of the future and serve as an agreement between the management unit and the government on the specifics of resource use and management in that area. Participatory rural appraisals, to identify community values and areas of sensitivity such as tabu sites, were an important step in this process. Community forestry programmes are also being implemented in Yap and Kosrae.
last updated: Tuesday, November 24, 2009