According to Joyce Beouch, BWA coordinator, only 3 of the 10 states of Babeldoab have not joined BWA. Moreover, the 7 allied states – Aimeliik, Ngeremlengui, Ngardmau, Ngarchelong, Ngiwal, Melekeok, and Ngchesar – share a common goal of wanting to protect and perpetuate conscious and environmentally friendly use of the watersheds and water resources on Babeldaob.
Further, each of the allied states, through its representative in the BWA steering committee, works to achieve this goal by addressing concerns specific to each state.“There is only so much that can be accomplished with limited resources,” said Beouch, “and the steering committee is making an attempt to maximize the use of the resources to meet the needs of each respective state and the alliance at the same time.”Beouch further added that the meeting also served as an opportunity for the committee to welcome its newest members – representatives of the state of Ngarchelong and Ngchesar.Members of the committee, according to Beouch, unanimously agreed that a carefully devised plan to achieve the ultimate goal of BWA is essential; however, in order for such a plan to take root, each allied state must have a plan of its own.“To date, only a few of the allied states have established action plans, which have been implemented,” Beouch, said. “Most of the allied states, particularly those that joined BWA within the last year, are still in the process of putting components of their plants together.”The committee decided that a strategic planning retreat will ensue sometime in April and soon after all of the allied states have reported to the committee individual updates of what has been planned, implemented, or enacted in each respective state.“When the each state updates the committee between now and before the end of April, a strategic planning retreat would be scheduled,” Beouch said.The retreat, she added, would essentially result in the development of a plan that would indicate what BWA will do throughout the year and would specify what services and support it would accord the address specific needs of the allied states.“We are confident that each of the allied states will have a viable management plan by mid April,” Beouch said. “We are also very hopeful that our work would entice the remaining Babeldaob states (Ngaraard, Airai, and Ngatpang) to join in the effort to maintain the quality and quantity of our water.”
