Yap Women’s Association Musters, Elects New Officers COLONIA, Yap (WIO) — The Yap Women’s Association (YWA) had its special meeting on the 7th of this month. Representatives of twenty-seven women’s groups in the State of Yap attended. The meeting started in the morning of Thursday, August 7, 2014 at the Yap Small Business Development Center’s multi-purpose facility. The primary purpose for this meeting was to elect the Association’s new officers. Other topics touched on were: the status of women’s issues and activities, the YWA Multi-Purpose Building efforts, information on election candidates, World Food Day, Canoe Festival, Trade Fair, Yap Day, human trafficking, Yap Living History Museum projects and the National Women’s Conference. The election results are as follows: Laura Tiningdad as President, Teresa Filepin as Vice President, Mercedes Laayow and Becky Leemed as Secretaries, and Numie Acker as Treasurer. The new officers will be meeting sometime in the following week with the old officers to “pass the baton”. The Women’s Interest Office (WIO) on behalf of the Yap State Government women’s interest extends congratulatory remarks to the new officers and appreciation of dedication to the old officers. 6th Annual Canoe Festival COLONIA, Yap (YVB, Aug. 07, 2014) — Individuals from the Yap Living History Museum, Yap Traditional Navigation Society, the Yap Chamber of Commerce, Yap Sports Council, Wa’agy, Yap Association of Paddlers, and Yap Visitors Bureau met on August 6th to start making plans for the 6th Annual Canoe Festival. The Yap Living History Museum with the Traditional Navigation Society will be hosting the event this year, which will take place Sunday November 9, and Monday November 10, 2014 at the Yap Living History Museum. The festival will feature International Canoe Paddling races on Sunday November 9 and Traditional Canoe races and demonstration on Monday November 10. There will many other activities over the two day festival, including traditional dances, and a “Night Market” on Sunday Evening from 6-10 PM near the museum grounds. Private Scholarships For Top Micronesian Students YAP, Micronesia (Habele, Aug. 07, 2014) — A dozen bright young island students are headed to top private schools across the central Pacific nation of Micronesia. Their tuition scholarships, awarded by the Habele charity, were announced during a small ceremony at the Micronesian Embassy in Washington DC earlier this week. Among the winners was Griselda Muut of Yap. She will be a sophomore at Yap Catholic High School (YCHS) this fall. Giselda lives with her mother Mary Layan and younger sister Margo in the Village of Kaday, a part of Weloy Municipality. Their father is deceased. Mary is an engaged parent who describes her daughter’s school enthusiastically as “challenging” and “demanding.” Rev. Michael Corcoran, the Jesuit headmaster of YCHS, explains Griselda, “worked extremely hard and earned 1st honors for the last quarter of her freshman year.” Miss Mutt is also active in village and school based athletic programs, in addition to participating in her village’s traditional cultural dance ensemble. The scholarships are privately funded and cover roughly three-fourths of tuition and fees at primary and secondary schools. More than 150 students from Yap, Chuuk, and Pohnpei States of the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) applied, seeking to attend independent, mostly religiously affiliated, elementary and high schools in the State Capitals. Winners were chosen based on academic achievement, financial hardship and geographic isolation. The students will be enrolling at Saint Mary’s, Yap SDA and Yap Catholic High School in Yap; Berea Christian and Xaiver High in Chuuk; as well as Calvary Christian Academy in Pohnpei. Miss Muut is one of several 2014-15 awardees who earned a renewal of their Habele scholarship from last school year. Over the course of the academic year, Griselda and others regularly provided Habele with copies of their quarterly grades, academic and behavioral reports and awards, as well as photos of themselves engaged in extracurricular activities. “This modest program expands access to top notch instruction for ambitious students in Micronesia’s most remote villages, islands and atolls,” explained Neil Mellen, of the US-based Habele, which awarded the scholarships. “The demand for these choice scholarships far exceeds our ability to provide them. We are grateful so many private US and European individuals have chosen to make this targeted investment.” Habele was established as a South Carolina based nonprofit in 2006 by a group of former Peace Corps Volunteers who served as public school teachers in Micronesia. The charity provides support for libraries, sports leagues, STEM clubs and mentorship programs in addition to its annual tuition scholarships. Insect Destroying Coconut Trees In The Philippines Worries Palau KOROR, Palau (Island Times/PIR, Aug. 07, 2014) — The Bureau of Agriculture (BOA) is concerned about an outbreak of an insect that is destroying coconut trees in the Philippines. BOA Director Fred Sengebau has instructed Quarantine officers to be on the lookout for any green coconut or other palm products, banana leaves or mangosteen fruits from the Philippines to prevent this insect from spreading to Palau, where it could devastate coconut and other palm trees. Toechel, the nipa palm, is also reported to be very susceptible to this insect. Toechel is an important part of mangrove ecosystems, as well as being an important contributor to the local economy and culture. The scale insect (scientific name Aspidiotus rigidus) was first found in the Philippines in 2009; since then it has spread throughout the country, and has killed hundreds of thousands of coconut trees. The insects look like the usual transparent scale found on coconut palms, appearing as small orange to yellow spots living underneath translucent scale covers about 1/16 to 1/8 inch in diameter, mostly on the leaf undersides. According to a scholarly report, The scale insect encrusts the lower leaf surfaces; … the foliage yellows and dries; fruits form less nutmeat; the water inside the nuts tastes sour; and the tree dies in 6 months or less. …. Some farmers have been forced to cut down dying trees and sell them as lumber to mitigate losses. Due to the proximity of the Philippines to Palau, BOA Director Fred Sengebau has directed Quarantine to be especially vigilant when inspecting incoming luggage and cargo from the Philippines, to prevent this insect from entering Palau. Incoming passengers from the Philippines, as well as importers, are requested to be careful not to bring any green coconut or other palm products, banana leaves or mangosteen fruit into Palau. Palau Minister Explain Delay Promulgating Petroleum Regulations KOROR, Palau (Island Times/PIR, Aug. 08, 2014) — Minister Charles Obichang of the Ministry of Public Infrastructure, Industries and Commerce (MPIIC) has explained the delay in promulgating the implementing rules and regulations of the Petroleum Act. The MPIIC is the government agency that is responsible for implementing the rules and regulations of the National Petroleum Act (RPPL No. 8-37) and its complementary law, Petroleum Revenues Management and Sharing Act (RPPL No. 8-36). Prospective oil investors, including the Singapore-based Cepu Sakti Energy (CSE) Pte Ltd. which has indicated willingness to spend $15 million for an oil exploration project here, said that they will only invest in Palau if such regulations are in place. In April of this year, the Senate passed a resolution urging President Remengesau to implement the oil regulations by securing the composition of the Investment Management Board of the Petroleum Funds. Earlier, two members of the House of Delegates- Delegates Noah Kemesong of Kayangel and Marhence Madrangchar of Ngarchelong- have written Minister Obichang urging the full implementation of the act without undue delay. According to the two lawmakers, who were the authors of the Petroleum Act, drafts for the regulations are ready for promulgation and implementation. Likewise, Kayangel Governor Jeffrey Titiml and other officials of Kayangel have written the national government to ask for its help in having the rules and regulations in place. The proposed oil exploration is supposed to be conducted in the Palau North Block (PNB) off Kayangel. In a letter to House of Delegates (HOD) Speaker Sabino Anastacio, Obichang explained the reason behind the delay in the promulgation of the oil regulations. The letter was dated July 23, 2014. The purpose of this letter is to explain the delay of the Ministry of Public Infrastructure, Industries, and Commerce in implementing RPPL No. 8-36 and 8-37, which as you know, provide the legal framework to allow for the exploration of oil and gas in the Republic, as well as the legal framework for revenue sharing of the revenue derived from oil and gas production, the first part of the letter reads. Obichang said the law specifically provides broad discretion to the Minister to determine whether to allow oil exploration for oil or drilling for oil in the Republic. To begin with, I must refute any assertion that we must allow oil exploration in the Republic because these laws were passed. Section 2 of Chapter 4 of RPPL No. 8-37 provides that the Minister may issue a Study License. Section 3 of Chapter 4 of RPPL No. 8-37 provides that the Minister may issue an Exploration License. Section 4 of RPPL No. 8-37 provides that the Minister may, subject to the approval of the Inter-Governmental Committee, issue a Production License. Therefore the Minister may (i.e has the discretion) to issue a license that would allow an approved person to engage in studying whether oil exists, exploring for oil, or producing or extracting oil, Obichang said. Obichang said that at this time he is extremely hesitant to begin issuing licenses that would allow oil companies to engage in activity here. He said that the reasons that have emerged for his hesitation have developed as a result of in-depth discussions within the Ministry and consultations with the legal counsel of the Office of the President. The MPIIC Minister stressed that there are a number of issues in the laws that need to be addressed through regulations and unfortunately, the final regulations that were drafted in November of 2012 do not address all of the issues that need to be addressed. In fact, the regulations pay so much attention to permitting regulations and so little attention to protecting the environment that it seems as though the regulations may have actually been drafted by an oil company, Obichang explained. Obichang also took issue with the four sets of draft regulations that are intended to implement RPPL Nos. 8-36 and 8-37. He said that those four sets of draft regulations, especially the Environmental regulations, have major drawbacks. He pointed out that the draft Environmental Regulations only devoted one page relating to responding to an oil spill and clean-up procedures. I will not issue a single license under the authority of this Act until I am convinced that we have in place the strongest possible environmental regulations that include the best practices for preventing oil spills, responding to oil spills, and cleaning up an oil spill, he said. Obichang said that more work is still needed to be done for such matters. The MPIIC Minister also questioned the contract between Kayangel State and Palau Pacific Energy (PPE) which was initially entered into in 2002 and has seen numerous amendments, the most recent of which was executed in December of 2012. The contract stipulates that Kayangel State is entitled to twelve and a half percent of the oil in kind or the proceeds received by the licensee derived from the sale of petroleum. Obichang said there are a couple issues with this contract, First, as should be obvious from what I discussed in the previous section, 12.5 percent of the net profit is absurdly low when compared to the 40 percent set forth in the law and the draft regulations, and even more absurd when compared to the 50 to 60 percent that is industry standard for an oil producing country to receive. In fact, in my opinion, when comparing 12.5 percent with 40 percent, the current contract between Kayangel State and Palau Energy Company is nothing short of a slap in the face of the people of Kayangel State, he said. Second, the contract allows Palau Energy Company to transfer or assign any interest in the license, which makes it difficult to assess the reliability and expertise of the firm or oil company that will actually perform the exploration, drilling, and extraction because Palau Energy Company can simply assign the contract to any other company that it desires to assign the contract to, he added. The most recently drafted regulations, that are final as of November 2012, do not adequately address the issues that are currently present in the laws. Of particular note, this Ministry will not take any steps to issue licenses under the authority of RPPL No. 8-36 until I am convinced that the Republic has put in place the best practices for protection of our environment through operational rules and procedures that will limit the possibility of an oil spill, while also imposing strict liability upon oil companies that decide to engage in oil exploration or extraction within our jurisdiction. Finally, I believe that we must engage in a thorough investigation of the current contract between Kayangel State and Palau Energy Company, and any other contracts that may be in existence. We must do our due diligence before allowing a company to drill for oil in our pristine marine environment, Obichang concludes. 34th Annual HPO And NPS Consultation Meetings On Guam GUAM, Micronesia (Marianas Variety, Aug. 08, 2014) — Pacific Island Historic Preservation Officers from Saipan, Guam, Micronesia, and American Samoa attended the 34th Annual National Park Service and Pacific Island Historic Preservation Offices Consultation Meeting on Guam from July 17 to 26. The Micronesian Endowment for Historic Preservation was created 33 years ago as a non-profit organization by Historic Preservation Officers throughout Micronesia with an emphasis on creating sustainable programs to ensure the protection and preservation of historic resources in Micronesia. It was also intended to support cultural resource activities beyond the funding provided by the National Park Service to each HPO office. The National Park Service, the grantor agency, mandates Historic Preservation Offices within Micronesia and the three territories—the CNMI, Guam and American Samoa—to participate in the annual meetings and present their program status reports, activities and special projects. NPS officials Hank Florence, the lead for Cultural Partnership Programs, and Paula Creech, the grant management specialist, chaired the meetings. The Guam Historic Preservation Office, Department of Parks and Recreation, hosted the event. Pacific Island Countries To Meet For First Development Cooperation Forum With Thailand THAILAND, Asia-Pacific (Radio Australia, Aug. 07, 2014) — Pacific countries will gather for the first ever development cooperation forum with Thailand this weekend. Thailand is one of Asias emerging aid providers, with a growing interest in the Pacific as well as its nearest neighbors including Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam. All 14 member nations of the Pacific Forum have been invited to attend the first Thailand-Pacific Island Countries Forum in Bangkok on August 9-10. The meeting will focus on the theme Strengthening Development Cooperation toward Common Prosperity. Training and scholarship opportunities are expected to be on the agenda along with sustainable development, agriculture, fisheries and tourism. Anthea Mulakala, director for International Development Cooperation at the Asia Foundation, says the international development landscape has shifted dramatically over the past decade and Thailand is a part of that change. In the scope of donors Thailand is a very small and relatively new donor, and interestingly, like many other Asian countries Thailand is both a donor and a recipient country at the same time, she said. Thailands development assistance probably started in the 1990s when the economy reached middle income level and the government at the time wanted to put forth as part of Thailands foreign policy objectives to become more of a development cooperation partner in the region. So Thailands priorities have really been in its own neighborhood—what they call CLMV countries, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam—but also in recent years you have seen an expansion to other parts of Asia, Africa and also the Pacific. Now Thailand actually has, for many years, been providing to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Developments Development Assistance Committee on its aid. Thailand also seeking increased economic operation Thailand has big economic interests in the Pacific, namely the tuna fishing industry and Papua New Guineas gas resources. Ms. Mulakala says the forum will be an opportunity for the South-East Asian nation to deepen its economic links to the region as well as widening its development cooperation activities. Thailand has economic objectives as part of its cooperation program, she said. They are also hoping to have increased investment and partnerships along the lines of South-South cooperation and South-South economic cooperation with the Pacific Islands. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is interested in expanding its scope more widely into the Pacific and particularly in the areas around capacity-building; so looking at focusing on Thailands expertise, best practices and sharing experiences, particularly in areas around sustainable development, community development, agriculture and fisheries. I think that what you will see is more of a role for technical training. I believe there has already been a considerable amount of technical training between Thailand and Pacific Island states and that will likely grow. The two-day meeting in Thailand will bring together delegates from the Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, the Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, the Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu. Observers from Australia and New Zealand have also been invited to participate in the forum, Thailands Public Relations Department said on its website. -END- COMMUNITY MESSAGE: We have lost much in good cultural values—self-sufficiency, hard work, pride, respect, etc. It may be that good cultural values cherished by our forebears are no longer useful to us. Otherwise, we would never make certain things a habit in our time—asking others for all kinds, even stuff we do not need, and getting pissed off when we are turned down, a feeling that somehow we have greater rights over other people or to other people’s stuff. And making people wait for us even though we need their help, a feeling that others are either less human or have fewer commitments and worries than us. And not fulfilling obligations, even when others rely on us to do our parts in important matters. The list goes on with more new and extreme ones on the way. Maybe we are too good for good values so why worry.
Posted on: Sat, 09 Aug 2014 00:08:31 +0000
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