Organization Legal Name: Project Title: Date of Report: 24 February 2014 Report Author and Contact Information

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1 Organization Legal Name: Project Title: Date of Report: 24 February 2014 Report Author and Contact Information Conservation International - Pacific Islands Program Small Grants Mechanism for Polynesia-Micronesia Leilani Duffy CI Pacific Islands Apia - SAMOA CEPF Region: Polynesia-Micronesia Strategic Direction: Grant Amount: $824,955 Project Dates: May 1, 2008-May 31, 2013 Implementation Partners for this Project (please explain the level of involvement for each partner): The following partners assisted CI-Pacific Islands in the implementation of the Small Grants Mechanism by participating as the Technical Advisory Committee in reviewing and providing advice on the project proposals received from potential grantees. These committee comprised of members from inter-governmental organizations, international NGOs, academic institutions, regional NGOs and UN Agencies. 1. Mr. Greg Sherley (served as the Chair of the TAG) UNEP Task Force Manager Pacific Region - Samoa 2. Easter Galuvao Biodiversity Advisor Secretariat Pacific Regional Programme, Samoa 3. Jean-Yves Meyer Environment Research Department French Polynesia 4. Mark O Brien Pacific Birdlife International Fiji 5. Willie Kostka Micronesia Conservation Trust FSM 6. Marika Tuiwawa University South Pacific Fiji 7. Souad Boudjelas Pacific Invasive Initiative, Auckland NZ.

2 Conservation Impacts Please explain/describe how your project has contributed to the implementation of the CEPF ecosystem profile. Please summarize the overall results/impact of your project. The CEPF Small Grants (SG) investment managed by CI-Pacific Islands for terrestrial biodiversity conservation in the Polynesia-Micronesia hotspot had addressed some issues and concern that were not directly covered in the large grants. The SG focused on the three strategic directions (SD) highlighted in the Ecosystem Profile which includes invasive species control, management and eradication; improved management of KBA sites and community awareness and species recovery. This grant had more flexibility in terms of its emergency response to urgent conservation concerns that needed immediate action and attention and at the same time, the SG allowed for research into species that posed serious concern but were not included in the CEPF priority list of species for investment. Over the five year investment, the SG supported 46 projects from 32 different stakeholders from the 13 eligible countries in the Pacific. The 32 civil society groups covered academic institutions, inter-governmental organizations, local NGOs and international NGOs, community-based organizations and consultants. Grants ranged from support given to regional capacity building workshops on invasive species and species recovery, to research work into preventing the spread of invasive species, public awareness activities at the community level on conservation and protection of key priority species, as well as developing methodologies for the application of economic tools in valuing the impact of invasive species and conducting feasibility studies. The total investment for the SG was estimated at USD 824,955 thousand for the five year period and this amount was expected to be allocated evenly within the three strategic directions. However during implementation most proposals received for the small grants from potential grantees target SD-1 and SD- 3 because these two strategic directions had the most emerging issues that needed support. The following Figure- 1provides a summary of the SG investment in the Polynesia-Micronesia Hotspot and the strategic direction that had the most grant allocation.

3 Planned Long-term Impacts - 3+ years (as stated in the approved proposal): To successfully achieve strategic conservation outcomes as defined in the ecosystem profile or the revised investment strategy for the Polynesia-Micronesia Hotspot, as a contribution to global biodiversity conservation and improved livelihoods in the region. A particular emphasis will be placed on achieving conservation outcomes that meet both terrestrial and marine conservation priorities. Actual Progress Toward Long-term Impacts at Completion: Progress towards meeting the long-term impacts focused mainly on terrestrial conservation priorities because the funding was limited and it didn t extend to marine. Overall, long term impact cannot be realized within the five year timeframe especially when the investment in a project is minimal with a ceiling of 20k. However there were a few projects which had emphasis on long term impacts through up-scaling to a large grant or receiving support from national government to expand on their current work. The following examples from Cook Islands, Palau and Federated States of Micronesia illustrate some long term impacts that can be seen in the small grants projects. Cook Islands: The grant that was given to Te Ipukarea Society (TIS) who contracted Cook Islands Natural Heritage Trust (CINHT) to improve the breeding capacity of the reintroduced Rimatara Lorikeet on Atiu Island by reducing harassment by the common myna. The project achieved its target of reducing the myna population down to 30%, according to the report from Gerald McCormack (project manager), it was estimated that the myna population was around 6,000 when the project started and were down to 2,000 although the myna bird breeds successfully the project managed to keep the population down to 3,000 by June One good indicator for this project is the slight increase in the Rimatara Lorikeet (CEPF priority species), which showed from the 23 introduced lorikeet in mid-2007 the numbers went up to 90 and the last count estimated 120 lorikeet by June The impact from this project shown in the increase number of lorikeet due to reduce number of myna birds gave the RIT and Technical Advisory Group a good indicator of scaling up this project to a large grant and also CINHT submitted a proposal to CEPF with confidence that their program has now changed from being a control program for invasive mynas to full eradication of just over $100k USD required. This project which started by CEPF has seen Atiu Island from the Cooks to be the first small island to be 100 percent myna free by mid-2014 according to Gerald McCormack 1 This project was implemented under CEPF strategic direction-1 which focus on controlling an invasive, it equally enhanced the survival of the Rimatara Lorikeet, a CEPF priority species for CEPF investment, and it benefited other birds on the island of Atiu, which is a priority site for CEPF investment. Palau-Micronesia: The grant that was given to the Palau Conservation Society (PCS) facilitated the development of a management plan for Ngchesar s two conservation areas Mesekelat and Ngelukes Conservation Areas with strong support from the local community. In May of 2011 a management plan was developed and submitted to the State, in June of 2011 the Ngchesar Council adopted the management plan and it is now being 1

4 implemented. In September 2011 the Palau National Congress appropriated $28,000 as a first payment out to the State of Ngchesar to implement the management plan. This project addressed strategic direction-2 on improving the status of Key Biodiversity Area and the State of Ngchesar is located in Babeldoab upland forest site 144 in the Ecosystem Profile for Polynesia-Micronesia hotspot. What is important to note here is that the grant given has resulted in Palau s National Council providing a grant of US28k to the community of Ngchesar to start implementation of their management plans for the two conservation sites indicating a long term impact whereby local community has now continued with on the ground actions demonstrating their commitment to the implementation of the two management plans beyond the support provided by CEPF. Planned Short-term Impacts - 1 to 3 years (as stated in the approved proposal): The project purpose is to convert the plans and strategic directions in the investment strategy into cohesive portfolios of grants that exceed the sum of their parts, while ensuring effective coordination with the CEPF Secretariat on all aspects of project implementation. Actual Progress Toward Short-term Impacts at Completion: In terms of short-term impacts the SG mechanism had achieved its purpose with regards to converting the plans and strategic direction investment into cohesive portfolios of grants exceeding their expectations. If you refer to Figure-1 on grant commitment and investments for the SG mechanism the largest grants allocation went to SD-3 and SD-1 because activities that can be implemented within these two strategic directions can have immediate impacts whereas for SD-2 improving the status of KBAs is something that will take awhile to materialized and short-term impacts would be noticeable through support to policy level for development of management plans and action strategies. In SD-1 most of the projects target research into invasive species looking at aspect of improved controlled mechanism that will have long-term impacts. Similarly with SD-3 much of the grants allocated to grantees went into public awareness activities at the community level to inform the recovery of endangered species and improve understanding of KBA sites. Describe the success or challenges of the project toward achieving its short-term and long-term impact objectives. The projects funded under the small grants provided a greater understanding of the status and threats of invasive species, as well as improving knowledge on the importance of endangered species that were priority investment for CEPF in the Ecosystem Profile, as well as new species that were not listed in the CEPF priority list. It also supported the development of management plans and strategies which helped improved the status of some KBA sites. The small grants mechanism had been very effective in this area of the investment strategy providing emergency response to support projects requesting to undertake immediate actions to stamp out any possible invasive incursion or to conduct feasibility studies and assessments to mitigate an emerging invasive species issue that is impacting not just the natural resource base but also economic and social aspects of society. Some of these emergency response projects supported under the Small Grants Scheme included;

5 A grant was given to Eco-Oceania outside the normal call for proposal period to prepare a Biosecurity Plan for the Phoenix Islands Protected Area, Kiribati. This came about because of sightings of illegal fishing boats around the area and the possibility of a ship wrecked that can bring alien invasive species to the uninhabited islands of the PIPA, after some islands have been declared pests free and results were shown through re-vegetation growth and increase number of sea birds; A grant was also given to SPREP outside of the call for proposal period to conduct an emergency investigation into the mongoose that was found near the wharf in Aleipata District. Mongoose is an invasive species in Fiji and is not present in Samoa and this was the first time that it was found on the island. So, this emergency grant was given to contain the mongoose and conduct testing on how it reached the island, either through importation of materials from Fiji for the wharf construction or other means. The investigation was also to make sure that no mongoose population is to be established in Samoa; The Coral Reef Research Foundation in Palau received a grant to support the documentation and monitoring of an existing invasion Aiptasia anemones, within the Jellyfish lake, located in the Rock Islands a natural heritage protected area site in Palau. The project focussed on ways to prevent future non-indigenous species incursion in the island like marine lakes. A grant was given to Nature Fiji Conservation Trust (project: Emergency response to introduced Green Iguanas in Fiji) to undertake immediate actions in addressing the spread of the introduced green iguana which poses serious threats on the endemic crested iguana found in Fiji. The project focussed on a joint emergency program with government ministries and communities to undertake strong biosecurity measures to contain the spread of green iguana within the islands of Fiji that they are found in such as Qamea Island, Matagi Island and Taveuni Island while a proper plan is developed for an eradication operation. The Palau Animal Welfare conducted a spayed and neutering program for all invasive macaques found on Babeldoab Island and Koror State for prevention measures to reduce the spread of monkeys through breeding and to avoid any major disease outbreaks from the macaques in the most highly populated areas of Palau. A program of control myna birds Acridotheres tristis has been initiated in a bid to boost the breeding success of the reintroduced Kuhl s lorikeet Vini kuhlii on Atiu Island, Cook Islands. This lead to a full eradication program which is currently ongoing to remove the remaining few myna birds. Apart from immediate actions to stamp out or contained invasive incursions, there are other emergency response projects supported which implemented feasibility studies and research that provide information on mitigating the spread of invasive species. These projects included the following: Documentation of Fiji s introduced and endemic land snail fauna. The project conducted thorough assessment on the impact of introduced land snails on the endemic Placostylus guanesis species which has now been confirmed as endangered;

6 Assessment of the Chytrid fungus prevalence amongst native amphibian populations and introduced cane toad in the Polynesia-Micronesia hotspot case study of Viwa Island, Fiji. The project enabled the monitoring of the prevalence of a global pathogenic fungus (Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis) within populations of the endangered Fijian ground frog (Platymantis vitiana). The assessment of disease within native frog populations is important so that a sustained conservation management plan could be developed for this IUCN endangered species. A grant was given to Landcare Research New Zealand to support the regional workshop focussed on Developing a Biocontrol Strategy for the Pacific, to assist Pacific Island countries manage and control invasive weed species. The Simon Fraser University received a small grant from CEPF to conduct a feasibility study for possible eradication of invasive rodents from island of Tahanea Atoll, Tuamotu Archipelago, French Polynesia. The outcome of the feasibility study enabled the removal of rats from the atoll as part of its restoration and re-introduction of the Tuamotu Sandpipers. Macaques have become a major invasive threat in Palau as mentioned earlier not just on natural ecosystem but also on the economic and social livelihood of communities especially on Anguar Island. Landcare Research New Zealand conducted a feasibility study to assess possible ways of eradicating the macaques. Landcare Research New Zealand received a grant to conduct a desktop study to establish the economic value of invasive species impacts in the Pacific. This work produced baseline data which resulted in the up-scaling to a large grant to looked at valuing the impact of selected invasive species in the Polynesia- Micronesia hotspot with the specific focus on Fiji. Almost all strategic direction-1 projects had a strong awareness raising component that most grantees reported on its success in terms of improved awareness on an invasive species issue at the national and community level. About 30 percent of invasive species projects targeted strong community awareness programs, such as: Documentation of Fiji s introduced and endemic land snail fauna, has many community representatives participated on all land snail survey trips and oral reports given to associated villages as well as poster materials produced for Fiji Agriculture Day; Increased public awareness concerning the protection of the threatened endemic frog fauna on Viwa Islands, as well as peer learning network through the provision of information on species-focused action. The population of Fiji Ground Frog on Viwa Island is now known to be free of the deadly Chytrid fungus disease hence this creates opportunities for eco-tourism activities on Viwa Islands. The success of the SG mechanism could also be attributed to its flexibility that most of the smaller civil society groups were able to access the small grants and implement projects that would help them build their capacity and confidence towards applying for large grants above the USD20k ceiling. An example of this type of small community group would be the YELA (Yela Environment Landowners Authority) NGO from Kosrae, FSM whereby this group applied for a large grant but was rejected due to concerns over its limited capacity however consideration was made by the Technical Advisory Group and RIT to grant them a small grant and scale down its project focus to only target the

7 Yela Conservation site. This project resulted in strengthening collaboration between partnering agencies and the Kosrae Protected Area Act was enacted by the State Legislature in December 2010, as a key element for Yela conservation area to become a legally recognized protected area and a management plan was developed. This was a milestone achievement for the people of Yela who went on to receive support from the State of Kosrae to further improve the management of the Yela conservation site. Another example of grant flexibility is the grant given to the New Zealand Butterfly Enterprises Ltd to conduct a study on the status of the endemic Samoa Swallowtail butterfly as a model for valuing and conserving butterflies. The swallowtail was not included in the CEPF priority list of species, however concern was raised over its status which the research conducted didn t identified the butterfly and this had put the status of the species as critically endangered, although the neighboring country American Samoa the butterfly exist there. This butterfly being endemic to Samoa has also brought in the support from the government of Samoa and that this particular species is now under the two Samoa program between Samoa and American Samoa and they are currently looking at possible ways of reintroducing the butterfly back to Samoa through establishing its ecological habitats. On the other hand, some challenging factors for the small grant mechanism is when there is more expectation by grantee of activities that they can do with the limited funds available which can result in not meeting the main objective of a project, for example the one project the SG supported in the Marshall Islands on Traditional landowner protection for endangered Ratak Imperial Pigeon and overwintering Bristle-Thighed Curlew in Key Atolls of the Marshall Islands. The project focused on the protection of the Ratak Imperial Pigeon with much awareness and less emphasis on ways to protect the bird nesting from its rat predator. As well high staff turn-over resulted in long delays and the project not achieving its main objective of managing rat predation and understanding the population of the bird on island. Were there any unexpected impacts (positive or negative)? No Project Components Project Components: Please report on results by project component. Reporting should reference specific products/deliverables from the approved project design and other relevant information.

8 Component Planned: Contract and manage small grants and provide recommendations on large grants to the CEPF Secretariat Component Actual at Completion: The RIT was contracted by CEPF Secretariat in September There were 6 Call for proposals throughout the five year period of investment which granted over USD 774,512k to 46 small grant projects ranging from invasive species, to protected area and species awareness at the community level. From the 46 projects supported, 5 were recommended for upscaling to large grants and includes the following: 1. Te Ipukarea Society (Cook Islands) project Enhance the breeding capacity of the reintroduced Rimatara Lorikeet on Atiu by reducing harassment by common myna; 2. Auckland UniServices (New Zealand) project Developing an effective resource tool for the prioritization of management action against invasive alien species; 3. Simon Fraser University (French Polynesia) Restoration of breeding habitat for the endangered tuamotu sandpiper on Toreauta and Kotuetue Isles and assessment of the feasibility of reintroduction elsewhere; 4. Landcare Research New Zealand Ltd, Towards establishing the Economic Value of Invasive Species Impacts in the Pacific; 5. Landcare Research New Zealand Ltd, (Palau) An Evaluation of the Feasibility of eradicating invasive macaques from the Republic of Palau (this proposal was approved by the TAG and RIT but later declined by one of the donors due to animal rights ethics.) From the 46 projects supported 9 projects produced publications for research work and awareness activities and this includes the following: 1. Palau: Coral Reef Research Foundation, Inc. Documenting an existing invasion to prevent future introduction of non-indigenous species in the island-like marine lakes; 2. Palau: Coral Reef Research Foundation, Inc., Touristintroduced threats in marine lakes: assessing the effect of sun-block on jellyfish health to inform sustainable management; 3. Art Whistler (Samoa) Rare Plants of Samoa; 4. French Ichthyological Society; (Regional) Improving the conservation of threatened freshwater fish and crustaceans in Polynesia through a synthesis (handbook format) of existing knowledge in their taxonomy, ecology, biology and management of their habitats; 5. Art Whistler (Niue); Rare Plants of Niue; 6. SPREP (Samoa); Raising community awareness of Environmental Laws in Samoa; 7. Institute of Applied Science, USP (Fiji); Increasing public awareness of Fijian Dragonflies A Pocket Guide to Species on the Main Island of Viti Levu; 8. ONF Conosur S.A (Easter Island); Book Publication

9 Easter Island Flora and Biodiversity Challenges; 9. Arthur Whistler (Tonga); Rare Plants of Tonga. From the 46 projects supported 8 projects contributed to regional/national policy, strategies, resource tool for management actions, feasibility studies and management plans etc, and this includes: 1. Workshop to develop a biocontrol strategy for the Pacific Region: Landcare Research New Zealand Ltd; 2. Biosecurity Plan for the Phoenix Islands Protected Area, Kiribati : Eco-Oceania Pty Ltd; 3. Developing an effective resource tool for the prioritization of management action against Invasive Alien Species: Auckland UniServices Ltd; 4. An evaluation of the feasibility of eradicating invasive macaques from the Republic of Palau: Landcare Research New Zealand Ltd; 5. Evaluating outcomes of conservation actions across the Polynesia-Micronesia hotspot: Applied Environmental Decision Analysis- The University of Queensland; 6. Management Planning for the Mesekelat Watershed Conservation Area, Babeldoab, Palau: Palau Conservation Society; 7. Yela Forest Reserve: A Critical Ecosystem and Natural Habitat: Yela Environment Landowners Authority 8. Development of the Regional Framework (Action Plan) for Marine Turtle Conservation and Capacity Building in Turtle Work: SPREP From the 46 projects supported 14 targeted capacity building and public awareness some at the regional whilst the rest were at the national and community level. These projects included: 1. Preventing the spread of crab-eating macaques in the Republic of Palau: Palau Conservation Society; 2. Traditional Landowner protection for endangered Ratak Imperial Pigeon and overwintering bristle-thighed curlew in key atolls of Marshall Islands: Marshall Islands Conservation Society; 3. Creation of Site Support Groups and Ecotourism Activities on the Islands of Rimatara and Ua Huka to Protect their unique natural heritage: SOP Manu; 4. Emergency response to introduced Green Iguanas in Fiji: Fiji Nature Conservation Trust; 5. Documenting lessons learned and best practices for community-based conservation: Belau Cares; 6. Building community capacity to achieve conservation outcomes for priority bat species in the Polynesia- Micronesia hotspot: A pilot study of Samoa Ecosure Pty Ltd; 7. Capacity building to secure endemic Samoan swallowtail butterfly as a model for valuing and conserving butterflies distinctive in the Poly-Micro hotspot: New Zealand Butterfly Enterprises Ltd; 8. Building community support to search for the Redthroated Lorikeet in Fiji: Fiji Nature Conservation Trust; 9. Hosting of a Pacific Islands Species Forum: IUCN Oceania; 10. Camp Ebill: Cultivating Knowledge of Palau s Flora and

10 Fauna: Ebill Society Inc; 11. Threatened Species awareness and capacity building in Palau: Palau Conservation Society; 12. Raising community awareness of environmental laws in Samoa: SPREP; 13. Nimpal Communities protecting the Yap Flying Fox: Kaday Community and Cultural Development Organization; 14. Increasing public awareness of Fijian Dragonflies A pocket guide to species on the main island of Viti Levu: Institute of Applied Science, USP. From the 46 projects about 27 targeted species conservation and protection while 12 targets KBA sites. Overall, the 46 small grants implemented had addressed various conservation issues and provided some publications for important research information, as well as guidance and support to regional strategies in the Pacific and national policies and action plans for some Pacific Island Countries. Were any components unrealized? If so, how has this affected the overall impact of the project? No Please describe and submit (electronically if possible) any tools, products, or methodologies that resulted from this project or contributed to the results. The following is a website which funds from CEPF small grants helped supported tools and resources such as the ISSG (Auckland Uniservices) project name: Developing an effective resource tool for the prioritization of management action against invasive alien species. Lessons learned series can be downloaded from this website: ed.aspx Lessons Learned Describe any lessons learned during the design and implementation of the project, as well as any related to organizational development and capacity building. Consider lessons that would inform projects designed or implemented by your organization or others, as well as lessons that might be considered by the global conservation community. Project Design Process: (aspects of the project design that contributed to its success/shortcomings) The SG project design is very much similar to the project design for the large grants and the only difference is the component planned versus actual which there was just one component. The Polynesia-Micronesia hotspot is such a complex region with most participating countries spread out in the vast Pacific Ocean and the only form of communication is via and a few visits by the RIT Manager to selected sites, which

11 means it didn t have a strong overall reach by the RIT due to the expensive cost of running a program for 14 countries with limited budget allocation for the RIT. However, the small grants mechanism is not something new to the Pacific because of various small grants program that already exist in the region, but the difference is that the CEPF SG enable support to larger well established NGOs and organization to carry out substantive research work and data specifically on endangered species and invasive species which smaller community based organization and local NGOs would not have the capacity to undertake. This flexibility of the small grants helped in providing new information and knowledge on the status of some endangered species and the growing concern with invasive species. Also the use of the SG for emergency response proved to be a success because this provided immediate action to some emerging issues which no other donor was able to provide a quick action for such request. For example, urgent need was request by the Fiji Nature Conservation Trust to assess the status of the introduced green iguana in Fiji which raised concern from some tourist operators and local people because of its fast breeding and possible impact on native species. The RIT through the CEPF SG and the TAG reviewed the request and granted support which enabled the feasibility study and awareness campaign that triggered attention from the government to address this as priority issue. Similarly, when a fishing boat was caught stranded on one of the islands in the PIPA (Kiribati) an urgent request was made for support to Kiribati in developing a Biosecurity Plan for PIPA given all the investment made they didn t have a Biosecurity Plan to help them in emergency cases. CEPF through the SG supported this request developing a Biosecurity Plan which was also used as guidance in developing a Biosecurity Plan for Tokelau Islands. The use of the SG enabled new information and knowledge about other emerging species that were not on the CEPF priority list but was raised by some countries due to concern over their status such as the Samoan swallowtail butterfly which is now a priority species by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment in the two Samoa program between Samoa and American Samoa. Overall the design of the SG provided more room to support other important projects which were not featured as a strong focus of the Ecosystem Profile. Project Implementation: (aspects of the project execution that contributed to its success/shortcomings) The role of the Technical Advisory Group together with the Chairman were extremely invaluable throughout the five year period of the CEPF investment, and most of the members were always helpful in providing advice and guidance on the selection of proposals to be funded under the SG. Also the focus of the SG with less restriction and specific objectives such as the large grants provided flexibility in supporting a few projects which didn t really meet the specific criteria for each strategic direction as stated in the Ecosystem Profile. From the list of projects supported under the SG it covered all taxonomy from reptiles, avifauna, freshwater species, amphibians, invertebrates and plant species. The publications produced from some of the SG projects provided new information and knowledge on status of freshwater species in Western Polynesia, as well as understanding flora for countries like Easter Island and awareness on environmental laws for Samoa. Other lessons learned relevant to conservation community:

12 The SG mechanism is an important grant for the following reasons to provide support to: - Build capacity of local conservation groups with limited capacity in managing large grants to strengthen organizational structure and management procedure; - For awareness program on important native or endemic species that can trigger national support from government due to their threatened status; - Conservation action on the ground that in return will have long term impacts because of the support and momentum it has gained from local communities and partners at the national level. Additional Funding Provide details of any additional funding that supported this project and any funding secured for the project, organization, or the region, as a result of the CEPF investment in this project. Donor Type of Funding* Amount Notes B Government 28,000 USD PCS project leverage 28k from Palau National Council *Additional funding should be reported using the following categories: A B C Project co-financing (Other donors or your organization contribute to the direct costs of this project) Grantee and Partner leveraging (Other donors contribute to your organization or a partner organization as a direct result of successes with this CEPF funded project.) Regional/Portfolio leveraging (Other donors make large investments in a region because of CEPF investment or successes related to this project.) Sustainability/Replicability Summarize the success or challenge in achieving planned sustainability or replicability of project components or results. As mentioned in the previous section of this report there are projects that have moved on beyond the CEPF support and are currently taken over by national governments or local community in each respective country? There is definitely a need for a small grant mechanism using the CEPF model for this region given the emerging issues that have come about as a result of the SG support such as enabling a two country partnership like Samoa, up-scaling certain projects to large CEPF grant which is soon going to reach its milestone achievement of being the first small island in the Pacific to be myna free and that is Atiu Island in the Cooks. Also, support to the YELA community has enabled the Kosrae State to legally recognized the YELA conservation area as a protected area and it improved the support and knowledge of local people to continue to protect this site. Another example of continued work and sustainability is the development of a management plan for Ngchesar s two conservation areas Mesekelat and Ngelukes

13 Conservation Areas in Palau which resulted in a grant of USD 28k from the national government to start implementation. Safeguard Policy Assessment Provide a summary of the implementation of any required action toward the environmental and social safeguard policies within the project. All grantees with projects that required the application of the Pest Management Plan were in compliance with the safeguard policy. Information Sharing and CEPF Policy CEPF is committed to transparent operations and to helping civil society groups share experiences, lessons learned, and results. Final project completion reports are made available on our Web site, and publicized in our newsletter and other communications. Please include your full contact details below: Name: Leilani Duffy Organization name: Conservation International Pacific Islands Program Mailing address: PO Box 2035 Tel: Fax: lduffy@conservation.org ***If your grant has an end date other than JUNE 30, please complete the tables on the following page

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