According to Tublai Ililau, PCS’ Education Officer, “Kim” – a general term for a number of species of giant clams – is the “flagship species” of the program.
In an interview with Ililau, she said, “we hope to entice people to abide by conservation laws, propose and implement practical and manageable conservation management plans, and adherence to and respect of conservation areas established through traditional moratoriums – Bul.
Ililau said that program is an attempt at making people aware that everything in our natural world is interconnected as such that any disturbance or destruction of one specific part of the environment will have a domino effect on everything else – sometimes causing irreversible, undesirable damages.
“We are hoping to protect and conserve all that has not been affected by human encroachment and indiscriminate human activities,” she said.
Through “Kim er Belau”, she added, PCS runs an educational campaign to make people see and know of the effects human activities can have on other life forms, which would haunt residents of Palau, in the end, if not addressed.
“The giant clams survival is, as of present, dependent on the kinds of activities we do – be it on land or in the water,” Ililau stated. “Clams could perish from our waters if residents of Palau become careless on what they do on land.”
Research has shown that lack of proper management of land activities would likely result in the destruction of marine ecosystems – runoffs and land erosion due to farming and development direct causes of marine coastal environments.
According to Ililau, the program is was made possible through funding and support of RARE – a US-based conservation organization that aims to conserve imperiled species and ecosystems in the world by inspiring people to care about and protect nature, and which had supported similar efforts in Palau such as the Biib Environmental Project – Shell Palau, and UNESCO.
Ililau said it is as simple as this, “Be good to the environment; and it will be good for you.”
