Palau - Overview

Status and trends of biodiversity, including benefits from biodiversity and ecosystem services

The content of this biodiversity profile is still draft. The text below has been prepared by SCBD and remains subject to final approval by the Party concerned.

Palau is home to many species and ecosystems that are endemic or rare. It has the greatest area of continuous native forest in Micronesia. With more than 1,200 species of plants, of which over 860 are native, its forests are the most species-diverse in Micronesia... More »

Main pressures on and drivers of change to biodiversity (direct and indirect)

The content of this biodiversity profile is still draft. The text below has been prepared by SCBD and remains subject to final approval by the Party concerned.

Small Island Developing States (SIDS), like Palau, are particularly susceptible to ecological disturbances related to global climate change. Economic development is also negatively impacting biodiversity (e.g... More »

Implementation of the NBSAP

The content of this biodiversity profile is still draft. The text below has been prepared by SCBD and remains subject to final approval by the Party concerned.

Palau completed its first NBSAP in 2005 which was developed around 8 thematic areas: Protected/Managed Areas; Species Protection; Biosecurity - Invasive Species and Biosafety; Sharing of Benefits of Genetic Resources; Sustainable Economic Development; Prevention or Minimization of Waste; Agricultural Biodiversity; Mainstreaming of Biodiversity Conservation... More »

Actions taken to achieve the 2020 Aichi Biodiversity Targets

The content of this biodiversity profile is still draft. The text below has been prepared by SCBD and remains subject to final approval by the Party concerned.

A national framework for protected areas, known as the Palau Protected Areas Network (PAN), now exists. PAN’s goal is to provide national-level support for protected area management activities at the local level... More »

Support mechanisms for national implementation (legislation, funding, capacity-building, coordination, mainstreaming, etc.)

The content of this biodiversity profile is still draft. The text below has been prepared by SCBD and remains subject to final approval by the Party concerned.

Ownership of marine resources is established in Article I, Section 2 of Palau’s Constitution, stating that each state “has exclusive ownership of all living and nonliving resources, except highly migratory fish, from the land to twelve nautical miles seaward of the baseline.” Land can be owned by individual Palauan citizens, clans, or by state and national governments, in which case lands are often administered by designated government agencies... More »

Mechanisms for monitoring and reviewing implementation

The content of this biodiversity profile is still draft. The text below has been prepared by SCBD and remains subject to final approval by the Party concerned.

Considering the lack of quantitative data and monitoring capacity for many environmental processes and species in Palau, effort has been made to identify qualitative indicators of ecosystem health... More »