Project Detail

Monitoring Jellyfish Lake to Understand its Response to Climate Change and Human Impact to Promote Effective Management

Our monitoring project focuses on the natural and anthropogenic impact on
marine lakes, with an application towards policy and management of the marine lakes.
The marine lakes of Koror State's Southern Lagoon are a significant contribution to
Palau's biodiversity as they are a distinct and diverse suite of marine environments
home to a high number of endemic species (Hamner & Hamner 1998; e.g. Fautin & Fitt
1991; Dawson & Hamner 2005). Through our monitoring efforts since 1998, we have
learned that Jellyfish Lake is sensitive to climate change (Dawson et al. 2001, Martin et
al. 2005), yet we are still learning new aspects of how climate change can affect the lake
and its jellyfish population, such as drought conditions affecting the food web. Through
this proposal, we aim to continue monitoring the lake during the current (2015-2016) El
Niño/La Niña event to complete our 15 year data set on the lake and jellyfish population
response to extreme climatic events. In addition, we will continue to run an array of
instruments that will measure conditions during the current El Niño/La Niña event,
documenting changes in weather patterns (drought and seasons), sea level and sea
temperature, contributing to our understanding of changes that occur during extreme
climatic events.
Impact through tourist use of the lake will also be monitored through a
collaboration with Koror State, by digitizing their visitor log books and monitoring tourist
behavior in the lake. In the upcoming months and year, we will also monitor how
extreme climatic events (through the disappearance of the jellyfish) has affected tourism
in the lake, i.e. reduction of tourist numbers and Jellyfish Lake permits.
Overall, continued monitoring of the natural ecosystem allows us to understand
climate change and anthropogenic impacts on the biodiversity of marine lakes. This
understanding then provides a framework for Koror State policies and management
conservation of marine lakes. In addition, dissemination to other agencies and
community members will be carried out towards the end of the project, with a focus on
presenting our results and predictions to the community

Project Snapshot

Grantee:

Coral Reef Research Foundation

Country:

Palau

Area Of Work:

Community Based Adaptation
Community Based Adaptation

Operational Phase:

OP5 (Extended Period)

Grant Amount:

US$ 50,000.00

Co-Financing Cash:

Co-Financing in-Kind:

US$ 129,489.00

Project Number:

PLW/AusAid/2016/01

Start Date:

11/2016

End Date:

12/2017

Status:

Satisfactorily Completed

Project Characteristics and Results

Notable Community Participation

One high school student interned during the summer, assisting with field and laboratory work. Outreach activities were geared towards school age children to raise awareness and instill pride and ownership of marine lakes in Palau.

Promoting Public Awareness of Global Environment

Outreach activities of school visits and lectures to raise awareness and instill pride and ownership of the marine lakes directly reached 575 people, 8 schools, and 17 agencies involved in tourism. Information dissemination detailing the jellyfish population crash and recovery of the lake and threats from tourism were presented to the traditional and state leadership. The information provided to local the state government were shared with public via newspapers, reaching nationwide population.

Gender Focus

The Jellyfish lake is 1 of 9 other lakes within the Rock Islands Southern Lagoon of Koror State. This lake is open to tourism activities, scientific research, as well as educational awareness activities. A large number of tourists utilize the lake for its experience with a mix of men, women, youth, and children. Furthermore, the monitoring of the Jellyfish lake is conducted by two Palauan women and two men serve as the guides and have an extensive knowledge on the surroundings of the Lake and the Rock Islands.

Inovative Financial Mechanisms

The grantee had conducted various presentations during the implementation of the project, mainly to the business tourism sector, the traditional chiefs of Koror State, and to the policy makers (State legislation). They also conducted several outreach activities to various schools in Palau. At the end of the project, they compiled a report of their findings and disseminated the report to the stakeholders and worked with the SGP office to draft and finalize a fact sheet that is now available for the public and media to use. Finally, they are currently working with a media NGO to do a 5 to 7 minute video on their project, that is hoped to be made available to social media globally and locally.

Capacity - Building Component

The grantee has always been a scientific research institution. Through this project they were able to identify that they had needed to expand their scope to reach out to the education sector (schools and communities). Their capacity to conduct outreach and raise awareness on the Lake was one element that they found that needed further engagement.

Policy Impact

The local state government (Koror State) is the policy-maker who manages the rock islands and marine lakes. Through this project, communication and dissemination of our research findings helped to keep KSG informed of the status of Jellyfish Lake.

Policy Influence

Significant Participation of Indigenous Peoples

The project provided training and development of one local woman as a marine lakes specialist, with four other locals working part time on the project (2 women and 2 men of which 2 are students). Outreach activities of school visits and lectures to raise awareness and instill pride and ownership of the marine lakes directly reached 575 people, 8 schools, and 17 agencies involved in tourism. Information dissemination detailing the jellyfish population crash and recovery of the lake and threats from tourism were presented to the traditional and state leadership. The information provided to local the state government were shared with public via newspapers, reaching nationwide population.

Emphasis on Sustainable Livelihoods

Project Results

Through this project, Coral Reef Research Foundation (CRRF) monitored the recovery of the lake and other sites from the severe and challenging 2015-2016 El Niño event to understand the lake?s response to climatic events. To look at human impact, CRRF analysed visitor numbers to Jellyfish Lake to understand how tourists were utilizing the lake during the peak tourist season. Insights gained through monitoring and analysis were shared with policy makers and stakeholders to promote effective management. Outreach activities to raise awareness among the community were also carried out. Through these activities, the project also helped in developing the capacity of a local marine lakes specialist.

Socio-Economic Impact

The project provided training and development of one local woman as a marine lakes specialist, with four other locals working part time on the project (2 women and 2 men of which 2 are students). Outreach activities of school visits and lectures to raise awareness and instill pride and ownership of the marine lakes directly reached 575 people, 8 schools, and 17 agencies involved in tourism. Information dissemination detailing the jellyfish population crash and recovery of the lake and threats from tourism were presented to the traditional and state leadership. The information provided to local the state government were shared with public via newspapers, reaching nationwide population.

Environmental Impact

This project promoted the protection of Jellyfish Lake (61,000 sq. m), its unique endemic golden jellyfish (Mastigias papua etpisoni) and other marine lakes of Palau, and thereby contributing to the biodiversity of the UNESCO World Heritage Site, Rock Islands Southern Lagoon (100,200 ha).

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