THE CHIEF ESTATES

FALALOP ISLAND

ULITHI ATOLL, YAP STATE

August8th, 2011

Birgit Winning

Executive Director,

Oceanic Society

San Francisco, CA

U.S.A.

Dear Ms. Winning,

As the Chiefs and Leaders of Falalop, we commit to expanding conservation efforts on Falalop

and surrounding islands. We propose to create a management plan that combines traditional

practices and scientific recommendations so as to protect our marine resources and ensure

sustainable harvests.

In order to achieve our management goals, the community of Falalop would like to continue to

work with the Oceanic Society. Specifically, we would like assistance in developing a locally

managed marine conservation plan for our reefs and marine resources on the Island of Falaiop

and neighboring Turtle islands and the islands of Loosiep, Bui Bui and Yew. The conservation

plan we develop could be a template that other islands in Ulithi Atoll adopt, ensuring

coordinated management and conservation between all of the islands through community

agreements.

We recognize the work that Oceanic Society has already done with our community through the

Ulithi Turtle Project and the small-scale ecotourism programs they support here. We met with a

representative of Oceanic Society, Nicole Crane, on June 28, 2011, to discuss the development

of a larger conservation plan. We discussed several ideas including the possibility of reef area

closures, gear restrictions, seasonal closures, and a combination of methods; as well as the

training of local community members in monitoring and data collection on the reefs and the

fish we catch. We support the work of the Oceanic Society here on Falalop and commit to

continue working on a marine conservation plan that will protect our reefs and sustain reef

resources for our community now and in the future.

We hope that this letter of commitment will also help the Oceanic Society to secure funds to

help our community implement a locally managed marine conservation plan.

Yours sincerely,

•o^^mRap'hael Lirigelso

Chief of Falalop ad Representative/Owner of the Turtle Islands and Reef

THE CHIEF ESTATES

FALALOP ISLAND

ULITHI ATOLL, YAP STATE

Philip Yatch

presentative of Falchoy and the Reef of Losiep, Bui Bui and View

> , /v<M*^*ii^\Zi

Representative of Falkal

THE CHIEF ESTATES

FALALOP ISLAND

ULITHI ATOLL, YAP STATE

Falalop Declaration Concerning Marine Resources, 2011

In the interests of our children and future generations, we, the leaders of the community of

Falalop, declare our desire to manage our marine resources in. a sustainable manner. To this

end, we propose to create a management plan that combines traditional practices and scientific

recommendations so as to protect our marine resources and ensure sustainable harvests.

We recognize that parts of this management plan may require permanent, temporary/ or

recurring reef closures and species harvest restrictions, among other strategies. We also

recognize that effective management of marine resources may require coordinated

conservation plans with other islands in Ulithi Atoll.

As the Chiefs and Leaders of Falalop, we will help ensure that any agreed-upon management

plan will be monitored and enforced. In addition, we will ensure that pertinent information is

distributed to everyone involved. As a community, we understand that it may take time for

some management efforts (such as closure of some reefs to fishing) to be effective, and that

these closures may result in hardships (such as reduced fish catch) for some time period. In

order to gain the long-term benefits of this type of management, it may be necessary for our

community to secure supplementary resources in the interim to support our needs.

Supplementary resources may include meat or alternative sources of protein, as well as fuel so

we may fish other areas of the Atoll that do not experience as much fishing pressure as Falalop.

Agreements to fish such areas could be secured from owners of reefs in other parts of Ulithi

Atoll, and could become part of a larger conservation plan for the Atoll.

We propose to collaborate with organizations such as the Oceanic Society in order to take

advantage of their scientific expertise.

Signed this 7th day of August, 2011, Falalop, Yap State, Federated States of Micronesia

V

THE CHIEF ESTATES

FALALOP ISLAND

UUTHI ATOLL, YAP STATE

an Uwel

/jtepresentative of Falchoy

Representative of Falkal

John B Rulmal JrFalalop Ulithi

Ulithi Post Office Yap, fm 96943irulmal@vahoo.com

Giacomo Bernard)ProfessorUniversity of California Santa Cruz

February 28, 2012

Dear Mr. Bernard!,

I am writing in support of the Community Based Marine Conservation Proposal on Ulithi Atoll, inthe Federated States of Micronesia. This project will not only educate our community on theimportance of conserving our limited reef resource, but also encourage traditional conservationmethods.This project proposed the collaboration between the local communities and professional

sources like Oceanic Society and the University of California Santa Cruz. I believe that

professional advice presented with specific data will help island residents to realize the

importance of conserving our limited marine resource. It will also encourage traditional

conservation practices, which otherwise have been neglected for some time.

For example, before the Ulithi Marine Turtle Project (UMTP), local residents did not understand

how long it takes for green sea turtles to reach nesting age. Residents' have now learned that it

takes some 30 or more years for green sea turtles to mature. As a result, leaders in Falalop

Ulithi have decided to reduce the number of traditional takes to only special occasions instead

of the annual sea turtle harvest practiced in the past.

Furthermore, I believe that the proposed community base conservation project will also bring

some exposure to our local tourism economy. Visiting volunteers for this project will be able to

experience our unique island culture and share with others.

As a resident of Ulithi, I have seen positive changes in this community. I offer my support for

this project not only as a project supervisor for the Ulithi Marine Turtle Project, but also a

representative of Falalop Community.

Please feel free to contact me at email: iruimal@yahoo.com or call me on my cell phone at 671-

777-4389.

" Ulithi Marine Turtle Project

 Yap  Community  Action  Program  P.O. Box 426

Colonia, Yap FM 96943 Phone: (691) 350-2198/2255

Fax: 350-2381 E-Mail: yapcap@mail.fm

— Building Environmentally-Friendly Communities - — An Equal Opportunity Lender, Provider & Employer -

April 11, 2012

Dear Nicole Crane and Dr. Bernardi:

We wish to express Yap Community Action Program’s (Yap CAP’s) willingness to support the work proposed by the Oceanic Society for Falalop, Ulithi and to play an advisory role in this proposal to the Waitt Foundation to implement the project, “A New Approach: Building Locally Managed Marine Protected Areas With the Community of Falalop, Ulithi Atoll, Federated States of Micronesia.” Yap CAP is the lead agency in Yap for biological coral reef monitoring and has assisted communities with MPA management planning. We also have experience in socio-economic assessments and monitoring. This project will allow us to continue the work we are doing with MPA monitoring and capacity building at the community level. It will also build our capacity for data management and analysis and presentation of the data to managers and communities to be used for adaptive management. It will also allow us to work with our other regional partners to look at MPAs across the Micronesia Challenge Region. We assisted the Falalop community with marine turtle tagging and research in 2006 and started discussions of expanding their marine resource management efforts. This project is an opportunity to continue to assist this community as stated in our mission to “operate or support programs aimed at environmental and cultural preservation and other sustainable economic and social development programs in the pursuit of self reliance for all Yap citizens.” This is an important work for Yap State and the Micronesia region, so we hope that the proposal will be successful.

Sincerely,

Moses L. Fathal

Executive Director

Yap Community Action Program (Yap CAP)

Non-profit OCEANIC SOCIETY Founded 1972

30 Sir Francis Drake Blvd., P.O. Box 437, Ross, CA 94957 (415) 441-1106 (800) 326-7491 FAX (415) 474-3395 www.oceanic-society.org

March 15, 2012 Dear Nicole Crane, and Dr. Bernardi: I am pleased to work in collaboration with you to meet goals established by the community of Falalop of Ulithi Atoll, Yap. Oceanic Society has worked with the Ulithi community since 2004, and has sponsored the Ulithi Sea Turtle Conservation Project since 2007. The sea turtle monitoring project is now entirely implemented and managed locally with only scientific and fiscal oversight by Oceanic Society staff. One of the success of the project lies with broadening of marine conservation awareness within the Ulithi communities and the Yap outer islands. Awareness was expanded to the international community in 2011 when community members presented at the International Sea Turtle Symposium in San Diego. In 2008, Falalop community members approached Oceanic Society to help expand conservation efforts to reef management. The Society’s reef monitoring team reviewed potential approaches, and in 2009, Nicole Crane began preliminary meetings in Ultihi with Falalop chiefs to start addressing sustainable management priorities. In 2011, further data collection and stakeholder meetings led to the signing of the community declaration for marine conservation. The community has indicated that they are interested in sharing the proposed Falalop model with the wider Ulithi Atoll communities. And, similar to the sea turtle project, the intent is to also share this model beyond Ulithi into the wider regional conservation community. I am grateful for this opportunity to collaborate with such an excellent team for this project. Sincerely Birgit Winning President