Beautiful Yap, a tiny cluster of tropical islands in the western Pacific, has held on to its traditional culture. It places a high value on conservation.
The dozen villages of Yap’s Gagil and Tamil (Tomil) municipalities actively protect the ecosystems they rely on. In 2008, Seacology made a grant to two villages there, who agreed to permanently protect 35 acres of mangroves; they are still protecting the area.
The Tamil Resources Conservation Trust (TRCT) promotes ridge-to-reef conservation. In 2019, TRCT won an Equator Prize, which honors outstanding indigenous initiatives that advance nature-based solutions.
TRCT now protects a 2,500-acre marine area with coral reefs, seagrass, and mangroves. They also protect the 1,236-acre Tamil watershed, which sustains the aquifer that supplies safe water to 12 villages. It contains both savanna and forest. It is home to endemic species such as the Yap monarch, the Yap fruit bat, and an endangered cycad.
In the watershed, villagers may harvest plants used for traditional medicine, keep taro patches, and grow, mixed in with native trees, breadfruit, bananas, and coconuts. But anyone who burns vegetation, digs up soil or gravel, or hunts commercially is subject to a stiff fine.
To increase their conservation of the watershed, the communities will:
- Replant more native trees
- Strengthen fire‑break lines that stop grassland fires from spreading in the dry season
- Improve agroforestry with more native trees and ground cover
- Give community rangers more tools and training
- Offer conservation workshops to schools, youth, and women’s groups
- Secure long‑term protection by including the watershed area in Yap’s Protected Area Network
To make sure that people have enough food during droughts or saltwater flooding, villagers grow climate‑resilient crops in a nursery that is accessible to all 12 villages. With a Seacology grant, they will repair the nursery and expand it to create an environmental education center for people from all the villages, especially women’s and youth groups.
