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Consortium to receive $150K grant
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Posted on Mar 24 2005
The Marine Resources Pacific Consortium, the organization consisting of representatives from the insular areas of American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia and the Republic of Palau, will receive $150,000 from Office of Insular Affairs to strengthen regional capacity, it was announced today.
The grant will enable MAREPAC to complete the second phase of a five-year effort to promote regional cooperation on marine resource management and protection through MAREPAC.
“The Office of Insular Affairs has long recognized that building local capacity and strengthening cooperation among the region’s natural resource agencies, academic institutions and nongovernmental organizations are key to ensuring the long-term protection and management of the region’s rich coral reef ecosystems and marine resources,” said Office of Insular Affairs Coral Reef Program Manager, Karen Koltes. “This grant will help MAREPAC continue to build capacity and improve coordination among its members through support for the annual regional meeting, training support for priority projects and the purchase of equipment.”
For many years now, the Office of Insular Affairs has provided technical assistance and small grants to the insular areas to help manage and protect their reef resources.
OIA provided the funding to establish MAREPAC in 1999. MAREPAC is now regarded as a model program for promoting regional cooperation on the conservation of coastal and marine environments and the sustainable use of marine resources through education, research and support for on-the-ground projects. MAREPAC also advises regional governments on environmental issues and the crafting of effective environmental legislation.
The grant to the University of Guam will be funded through the Office of Insular Affairs’ Technical Assistance Program, which generally is designed to help insular area governments address critical needs for which funding is not otherwise available.
