The National Geographic’s July 2024 Special “Indigenous Futures” issue featured the “Defenders of the Reef” article which celebrated the success of the Hatohobei community in Palau, a OneReef partner since 2010. National Geographic subscribers can access the “Defenders of the Reef ” article here.
In 2020, poachers tried to bribe the rangers with cash equivalent to a ranger’s annual salary. The rangers rejected the bribe and alerted law enforcement leading to the detainment of the poachers and seizure of illicit goods including 500 pounds of sea cucumbers. “Community is not people alone. Community is a place, the reef,” explains Wayne Andrew, OneReef Micronesia Senior Director.
OneReef’s history in Palau began in 2007 when a leader from the Hatohobei community reached out to us. In 2010, we formalized the partnership, and have since continued to deepen our trusted and respected relationship with them. Together we helped build a ranger station, outrigger canoes, and have trained and equipped generations of community rangers.
OneReef also partnered with scientists from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography to use their technology to measure Hatohobei conservation efforts which they found to deliver astounding results:
“The people of Hatohobei ‘use their traditional ecological knowledge in a supremely thoughtful way’ agreed Stuart Sandin, a marine biologist at the University of California, San Diego. He has led several expeditions to Hotsarihie as part of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography’s research initiative on reef health across the tropical Pacific. Sandin pointed to…‘fish that you just don’t see in heavily exploited systems.’ Coral regrowth is also remarkable, according to Sandin. A series of images taken over time by his team show the reef’s corals have grown back ‘like crazy’ after a considerable disturbance…It’s ‘another signature that’s consistent with well-managed systems.”
OneReef is honored to partner with the Hatohobei community and many other communities in the region, as we continue to forge new relationships across the Pacific to protect reefs and indigenous cultural heritage.
