Federated States of Micronesia Biodiversity and Invasive Alien Species

Invasive alien species are the greatest threat to biodiversity in the Pacific islands. They are the largest cause of extinction contributing to the loss of traditional crop varieties and impacting food security and tourism. The threat is increasing as island nations develop and there's greater mobility among people, goods, and supplies.

Introduced plant species, for example, account for 22% of plants in Kosrae, 40% in Pohnpei, 37% in Chuuk and 39% in Yap. In addition to established invasive alien species are others of significant concern (e.g. Brown Tree Snake, Little Fire Ant and Coconut Rhinoceros Beetle) because they occur in Pacific countries that trade with the Federated States of Micronesia. Indeed, Little Fire Ant was detected in Yap in August 2017.

The project is designed to safeguard biodiversity in terrestrial and marine ecosystems, including agricultural and fisheries production systems, from the impacts of invasive alien species. This will be through strengthening the institutionalization and enforcement of biosecurity measures across all sectors of government at federal and state level, the private sector and civil society. Given that natural barriers to the spread of invasive species are thwarted by the movement of people, their goods and supplies, everyone (governments, citizens, visitors and traders) has a shared responsibility to safeguard natural and production ecosystems from the impacts of invasive alien species. Hence, inadequate institutional policy and regulatory frameworks, lack of invasive alien species awareness and understanding, and very limited operational capacity are the key barriers to be addressed under the project.

Impact

START DATE

September 2019

END DATE

December 2025

STATUS

Ongoing

PROJECT OFFICE

Fiji

IMPLEMENTING PARTNER

FSM Dept. Of Resources and Dev

DONORS

Global Environment Fund Trustee

UNITED NATIONS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME

TOTAL CONTRIBUTIONS

$2,345,276

DELIVERY IN PREVIOUS YEARS

2020$0

2021$15,253

2022$135,525

2023$172,916

Full Project information