Problem overview:

     Awareness and visions: The problem of deforestation, especially in watershed area, is imposing a threat to the water supply of the country. As a result, the government has announced Phonpei as a forest reserve. However, the government has to face with the problem of dissatisfaction from local communities.

     Integrating stakeholders: Participatory techniques have proved especially helpful for environmental planning in the Pacific islands. There is a need for community participation and understanding in environmental planning. The following is an example from the Pacific islands where involving the community made a significant difference in results.

Background:

      Successful environmental planning for sustainable development.

      In the early 1980's deforestation of the steep slopes of the interior of Pohnpei and resultant pollution of the watershed resulted in the creation of a 5100 ha forest reserve. At the same time a 5,525 ha mangrove forest reserve was designated to protect the coastal zone. The protected areas were designed to safeguard water supplies, cultural and archaeological sites and the diverse flora and fauna. The areas were also to be used for ecotourism and recreation.

      When survey teams tried to mark out the boundaries of the reserves, they were threatened by angry villagers armed with sticks and bush knives. The government quickly backed down and deforestation, largely to plant kava (a valuable social drug crop), continued.

      In 1990, the government formed a Watershed Steering Committee to promote watershed conservation and develop a long-term strategy. The Committee conducted an island-wide education and consultation programme. Their approach revealed a strong community desire to participate actively in planning for their own future. The Pohnpei Division of Forestry, with the assistance of the Nature Conservancy, formed a Watershed Management and Environment Project that integrated modern resource management methods with traditional decision making structures and local socio-cultural conditions. They created a GIS to show the loss of forest over time and identify areas of land-use suitability for the whole island. Using a Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) process, they identified community values and areas of sensitivity such as tabu sites.

      Community action plans were drawn up with the help of the high chiefs at the municipal level and village chiefs at the local level. The process of consultation and participation in the long term plans for the watershed areas lead to a request by villagers to extend resource management to the entire island, from the mountain tops to the edge of the lagoon. "The ultimate success is likely to depend on the devolution of authority from the State government to legally empower local decision makers." SPREP Environmental Newsletter April-September 1996.