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Palau
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Government of Palau
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The newly established Office
of Environmental Response and Coordination (OERC) is intended to facilitate
response measures
on the effects of climate change, biodiversity, and desertification
to the nations’ social and economic health.
The primary responsibility of OERC is to support Palau’s various
ministries and agencies in identifying and promoting programmes and
activities that deal with environmental, social and economic pressures.
In addition, the office is also mandated to address global warming,
land degradation and these impacts on biodiversity. The basic objectives
of OERC are to help implement environmentally responsible programmes
and activities and to generate awareness regarding the influences of
climate change, biodiversity, and desertification on Palau’s environment.
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• Climate change and sea-level rise
(Chapter I of the Barbados Programme of Action)
• Biodiversity resources (Chapter IX of the BPoA)
• National institutions and administrative capacity (Chapter X
of the BPoA)
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OERC main functions are:
• To assess the major vulnerabilites of the Republic and thereby
abatement measures and promote policies regarding these vulnerabilities;
• To educate and promote public awareness on environmental issues
relating to climate change, biodiversity, and desertification or land
degradation in Palau;
• To provide ongoing technical assistance in the implementation
of activities and programmes to respond and/or mitigate the effects
of climate change;
• To identify and promote synergisms between all stakeholders in
Palau—local communities, Executive and Legislative Branches of
the National Government, State Governments, Traditional Leaders, and
Palau’s growing private sector— basically the Republic of
Palau as a whole;
• To facilitate linkages between the Republic of Palau and regional
and/or international environmental activities and programmes;
• To collect baseline information about the existing marine and
terrestrial resources and greenhouse gas emissions for the development
of the national Greenhouse Gas Inventory;
• To actively support a sustainable balance between Palau’s
economy and its natural environment.
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To facilitate greater communication and
coordinated efforts, the offices of Climate Change, Biodiversity, and
Desertification are housed under OERC. Each office is required to fulfil
its obligations under their respective mandate. However, while working
to fulfill their individual obligations, each office will coordinate
their efforts to promote synergy between all local, regional, and international
governmental and
non-governmental agencies.
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OERC is located at the Palau International
Coral Reef Center,
M-Docl.
P.O. Box 7086
Koror, PW 96940
Republic of Palau
Tel.: (680) 488-6950/52/53/55 ext. 249 or 250
Fax: (680) 488-8638
E-mail: ERCPalau@hotmail.com
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