Malay, Kanifay- The Pacific Islands Managed and Protected Areas Community (PIMPAC), a long-term capacity sharing program and social network of site-based managers, through Yap R&D’s division of Marine Resources Management and its partners – Micronesia Conservation Trust (MCT), The Nature Conservancy (TNC), Blue Prosperity Micronesia (BPM), Women in Climate Change (WICC) Project, One Reef Micronesia, and Yap Catholic High School (YCHS) – and community representatives of Malaay, Kanifay and Thabeth, Gilman villages recently completed the Protected Area Management Effectiveness (PAME) Course.
The course was designed to teach conservation practitioners and protected area (PA) managers how to strategically assess PA sites' management effectiveness to update management plans. The PAME course aims to contribute to the regional initiative – Micronesia Challenge. Reey Marine Conservation Area (MCA) was selected as Yap’s pilot site because it is an established site due for review and update of its management plan. Moreover, Reey MCA site managers and community leaders expressed their interest and commitment to update their management plan and implement key activities to improve management effectiveness.
 Yap’s PAME cohort included Anthony Yalon, Debra Laan, Natasha Mitrad, Tazmin Falan, Jamie Gilmar, John Y. Gilsowuth, Anthony Folbuw, Richard F. Nruw, and Stephenia Gilsowuth with TNC’s Berna Gorong and MCT’s Bertha Reyuw serving as mentors. The team met with Reey MCA community members and relevant stakeholders for 2 consecutive Sundays to further evaluate Reey’s activities to date and discuss ways forward as it undergoes the adaptive management process.
(For further information, please contact R&D at (691)350-2182 or DYCA at (691)350-2168. Thank you.)
