Tree Planting Program

This program uses prisoners, students (LEEP) and members of the community to plant coconuts, fruit trees, medicinal plants, flowers and native Palauan plants along the Compact Road. The planting of trees along the road will serve many purposes. The roots of the trees will help to control erosion of the soil and undermining of the road, since the soil is not used to being unprotected from the heavy rains of Palau. The trees and the flowers will help to keep the Compact Road from becoming an eyesore in the otherwise magnificent scenery that can be found on our largest island. Finally, the fruits and medicines that the trees produce will help to feed hungry travelers, supplement food supplies to the nearby villages, and provide an extra food source for the prison inmates.

The installation of plants will naturally involve all of the States along the Compact Road. In the long run, the States will be expected to maintain the plants on the road within their borders. The Governors' Association and the Council of Chiefs have given their endorsement to the Vice President to proceed with the project. The prison inmates will provide manpower in collaboration with the States as part of their rehabilitation back into the community. This is a cooperative effort between the office of the Vice President, the schools, and the villages in Babeldaob. The students, teachers, parents, and community members will be enlisted to come out and help with the planting. Once the initial planting is done, we will continue to work with state governments and traditional leaders to turn the maintenance of the trees over to local communities.

Background

Presently, most of the development in the Republic of Palau has been concentrated on the small islands of Koror, Ngerkebesang and Malakal, all within Koror State. The large island of Babeldaob has been left mostly undeveloped, and represents a large, untapped resource. As part of the Compact of Free Association with the United States of America, Palau obtained funding to complete the Compact Road. The purpose of the road is to open Babeldaob up to development, and thereby reduce some of the congestion on the islands of Koror State.

While the plan to build the Compact Road is excellent for the economic future of Palau, turning a pristine island into a developed island is certainly going to cause some environmental problems, including threatening the habitats of the birds and other wildlife that make their homes in Babeldaob's beautiful jungles, forests and savannahs. This project aims to mitigate some of the environmental and visual impacts of the new road by planting trees along the margins of the road.

We will enlist assistance of forestry personnel to help with instructions on planting and provide advice on species selection. We will coordinate with the Public Works on location of power lines so plantings will not interfere with the electrical lines. We will cooperate with Daewoo on erosion control plantings. We commit not to use any invasive species. Towards completion of the project, we will draw agreements with the states regarding maintenance - about quarterly for two to three years.