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This field guide was designed specifically for contractors in Palau involved in clearing grading, stockpiling and other earth-moving activities at all construction sites. The field guide is intended ti help contractors implement the 11 erosion and sediment control ESC standards of the 2010 Palau Stromwater Management Manual that are administered and enforced pursuant to the Palau Environment Quality Protection Act.

Climate change is one of the greatest challenges ever to face the world and the island nation of Palau.

Today’s growth in human population and a sharp increase in resource consumption have turned environmental problems into issues of global significance. Only recently, in 1983 and more significantly in 1992, people have come to understand that economic prosperity is interconnected with the general health of the natural environment. Prior to 1992, the global business sector did not take into consideration the need to conduct business with sustainable resource use as a factor for their longterm success. In 1983 the UN General Assembly established the independent World Commission on Environment and Development, aiming to define global problems and seeking solutions thereto. The 1987 in the Brundtland Report, Our Common Future, the UN General Assembly defined the principle of sustainable development as development “which meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”. The 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro was a major breakthrough in this respect. The principles of maintaining the quality of the environment and using its resources in a balanced manner have been set out in three documents approved by the UN member states, dealing with the different facets of the natural and human environment.

The medium term development strategy (MTDS) –described as ―Actions for Palau‘s Future‖ –sets out the key strategies and actions to help achieve economic, social, environmental and cultural goals over the 5 year period 2009 to 2014. The MTDS establishes meaningful priorities and recommends credible policies and practical actions to address those priorities.

While the Republic of Palau, with over 2,000 mm of rainfall annually, is not subject to desertification, we have felt the effects of global climate change, and of land degradation due to human activities. Two effects of climate change are of particular concern to Palau: drought due to the El Nino/ENSO phenomenon; and sea level rise. The Republic of Palau is additionally threatened with land degradation due to road building, agricultural expansion, and various other land-clearing and forest cutting activities. Economic development needs to be undertaken in a manner, which will not reduce the ability of future generations of Palauans to benefit from Palau's rich natural resources.

The project to develop this National Action Program (NAP) began in December of 2001 when Palau held its first National Awareness Seminar on Combating Land Degradation and Mitigating the Drought Effects in Palau. As a result of this seminar, the Office of Environmental Response and Coordination (OERC) developed a National Report to the UNCCD, which was completed and submitted in April of 2002. As follow up to that National Report, OERC, together with other key stakeholders, have been gathering information, conducting assessments, and analyzing key issues, which have lead to the development of this NAP.