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The world's oceans are in trouble. Both their shallow waters and mysterious depths are being increasingly emptied of life. The decline in abundance of fish and other creatures is accelerating. Yet our global efforts to protect the marine environment still lag far behind our achievements on land. Less than one percent of the world's oceans are highly protected.

Although it is now widely acknowledged that economic analysis and the use of economic instruments are key to dealing with the problems associated with biological invasions, there remains little guidance as to how economic approaches and tools should be applied in practice. Invasive species have many unique and unusual characteristics which set them apart from other environmental and land use issues, meaning that analysis does not lend itself easily to conventional economic models. A more innovative and thoughtful approach is thus required, which is tailored to the specific issues, problems and features of invasives. Economic analysis needs also to be targeted to providing practical and policy-relevant techniques and information which can be used to support and inform real-world policy, planning and management.

The Republic of Palau (Palau) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean with a tropical climate and average annual rainfall of approximately 4,000 mm. Palau’s population is approximately 20,000 (Census 2000). The majority of the population lives in Koror State, the capital of Palau; about 14,000 people, or 70% of the total. Like many countries in the Pacific Region, Palau has been facing various kinds of solid waste problems caused by the characteristics of the country, such as lifestyle, high dependence on imports, concentration of population in the capital, limited capacity for solid waste management (SWM), and lack of proper waste management facilities and recycling industries.