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Cross-site Collaboration Builds Success

Cross-site Collaboration Builds Success

Cross-site sharing of conservation lessons is vital to maximizing outcomes. OneReef’s partner, the Conservation Society of Pohnpei (CSP) in the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), annually brings together all the Pohnpei State communities that manage their Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) so they can share information and best practices. The discussions at this cross-site meeting help OneReef change our programs and better support our partner communities.

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Resurrected Community Organization Makes Early Gains to Boost Nanwap MPA

Resurrected Community Organization Makes Early Gains to Boost Nanwap MPA

In 2020, OneReef formalized its Community Partnership Agreement with the five communities that manage Nanwap MPA. Shortly after that, MLMDA, a collaborative organization that the communities had created to help manage Nanwap, was revived, and a fundraising effort was launched. In our experience working with communities to manage MPAs, initiatives like these are a crucial success factor. Even so, we were taken by surprise at the speed with which the communities achieved their ambitious goal.

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Building the Next Generation of Stewards

Building the Next Generation of Stewards

Traditional Stewardship skills are important to the identity of Micronesian communities and also for helping protect their oceans in the face of climate change and other global threats. The success of the Stewardship Skills Youth Summer Camp supported by OneReef last year has set the foundation for ongoing camps and classes. In the summer of 2021, OneReef supported and facilitated two different Stewardship Skills camps for youth which are helping preserve and pass on traditional knowledge.

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Traditional Leaders Forum in Pohnpei

For centuries, Pohnpeians used traditional complex systems to protect their natural resources. These strict rules governed all clans’ behavior and ensured that Pohnpei’s rich coral reefs, mangroves, and forests provided food and economic livelihood to sustain themselves and future generations. Traditional resource management systems and stewardship systems have been diluted by modern approaches to regulate resource use and management. Modern approaches have also undermined the authority of indigenous communities to control their resources. Consequently, many traditional mangrove ecosystems have been lost and destroyed due to unsustainable harvesting and development practices and notable climate change impacts. On November 17th, traditional leaders made themselves heard!

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Pohnpei and Helen Reef teams have independently imaged their reefs!

In March 2019, OneReef, in collaboration with Scripps Institution of Oceanography, trained three teams of local islanders in cutting edge imaging technology used by scientists to monitor reef health over time. In June and October (2020), the teams from Pohnpei and Helen Reef independently imaged multiple sites in their area, putting their training into action! (The team from Ngarchelong, a Northern state of Palau, independently imaged six sites in March 2020).

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Community Steward Spotlight

We are deeply grateful for the community stewards who are pivotal to our work. One such person is Clifford “Poch” Osima; a Palauan Traditional Steward engaged in modern-day surveillance, enforcement, and reef health monitoring activities as a Ngarchelong State Ranger. He has been vital in helping us deploy cutting-edge technologies to reduce poaching and to monitor reef health. Read more!

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OneReef is 10 years old – and celebrating a 10 year community partnership!

We are celebrating the tenth anniversary of the first OneReef community partnership agreement! OneReef signed this formative agreement with the Tobi community (Hatohobei) in Palau, Micronesia, in 2010 to steward the community-owned Helen Reef Atoll.

The success of the Tobi partnership has sparked nine additional communities to join OneReef in our mission of vibrant reefs and thriving communities. To learn more about the history and inspiration behind OneReef’s community partnership agreements, read on.

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A 10 year partnership – conservation success at Helen Reef (Palau)

OneReef’s first Partnership agreement, 10 years ago, was with the Tobi community to support their efforts to protect and recover the marine ecosystem of Helen Reef, including its iconic turtle population. To honor World Oceans Day (June 8th), and World Sea Turtle Day (June 18th), we want to share the achievements of the Helen Reef Turtle monitoring and tagging program and celebrate this incredible community whose efforts have ensured that there have been no illegal poachers at Helen Reef since the last incident in 2014! Read on for the history of this program and its successful conservation efforts.

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Island teams use hi-tech underwater imaging in Palau

In March 2020, OneReef worked with Ngarchelong State Conservation and Law Enforcement to pilot 3D imaging of coral reefs in 6 different sites by local teams. Putting imaging technology in the hands of island conservationists is transformational and has significant implications for ongoing effective reef management. To learn how this imaging supports reef health, tourism and food security, read more.

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OneReef on NPR

We were thrilled to be featured this month as a guest on Listen Bay Area with host Armand Carr, which was also picked up by

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OneReef Model Expands in Palau

Under a formal Memorandum of Understanding with the Environment Ministry, OneReef’s site-based model will be incorporated into Palau’s Protected Area Network (PAN) and finance plan.

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“Solving the problems associated with coral reef loss in the Pacific Island region requires more than just throwing resources at the problem. We must partner with communities that have deep-rooted and culturally significant relationships with the ocean.”

Christopher LaFranchi

Christopher LaFranchi
CEO, Founder – OneReef

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