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This report covers the Republic of Palau component of a project involving used oil audits in selected Pacific Island countries. The objective of the audits is to establish volumes of lubricating, hydraulic and transmission oils imported annually into each country and the volumes of used oil produced, stored or otherwise disposed. The work has been carried out by Contract Environmental Ltd under a contract to the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP), with funding provided by the Global Environment Facility. Most of the information required for the audit has been obtained in a country visit undertaken by Martyn O'Cain from 26 to 31 May 2014 and was organized through the Palau Environment Quality Protection Board (EQPB).

The Republic of Palau is an archipelago in the Western Pacific located between 7º North latitude and 134º East longitude. Palau consists of over 500 islands covering a land area of 535 km2 . The archipelago has a tropical maritime climate with a mean temperature of 27º C (81ºF). The annual rainfall is about 3,700 millimeters. The Republic of Palau is situated close to the global center of marine biodiversity. There are at least 10,000 species of living organisms in Palau. The marine life consists of nearly 1,500 species of reef fishes, and 700 corals. Approximately 1,000 endemic organisms are found in Palau, the bulk of them from the terrestrial environment. Terrestrial endemics include about 200 endemic plants, of which 60 are orchids, 300 terrestrial gastropods, 500 insects, 16 birds, 12 amphibians and reptiles, two freshwater fishes, and two species of bat. All of these organisms are directly affected by droughts, soil erosion, land degradation, and unsustainable development.