MC 2030 Showcased at the UOG Conference on Island Sustainability
Micronesia Challenge Panelists at the 2023 UOG Conference on Island Sustainability
On April 14th, 2023, the Micronesia Challenge was showcased at the University of Guam Conference on Sustainability through a plenary panel with the various members of the Micronesia Challenge. The panel was moderated by Ms. Trina Leberer, the Director of the Pacific Regional Partnership at The Nature Conservancy. On the panel were Micronesia Challenge Regional Coordinator, Ms. Lincy Lee Marino, along with MC Marine Measures Lead Dr. Peter Houk, Professor for UOG Marine Laboratory; MC Terrestrial Measures Lead Mr. Wendolin Roseo Marquez, Senior Grants Officer at Micronesia Conservation Trust (MCT); Socioeconomic Measures Lead Mr. Winfred Mudong, Grants Officer at MCT; Ms. Tamara Greenstone-Alefaio, Conservation Program Manager at MCT, and Mr. Anthony Tornito, Biologist at DOAG of the Aquatic and Wildlife Division and former MC Young Champion.
“We continually conserve and manage our resources for the sake of the people, not just the environment. At the end of the day, we are working to ensure that our environment remains intact and pristine for our children and the future generations to come.”
The panelists each talked about the Micronesia Challenge and the various components of the regional conservation effort – from its inception in 2006 to the financial updates of the Challenge and the updated 2030 targets and how success is measured with each of the measure’s components – marine, terrestrial and socioeconomic. Ms. Marino gave a brief background of the MC and how it came to be and how it has evolved over the past 17 years. Ms. Greenstone-Alefaio shared the status of the MC Endowment Fund and how crucial it is to continually contribute to the endowment in order to achieve long-term financial sustainability. The measures lead’s showcased the major achievements and successes in each of the measures components in their endeavor to measure effectiveness in conservation and accomplishing the MC goals. Finally, panelist Mr. Tornito spoke on his experience as a MC Young Champion and how his internship led to his current occupation as a biologist at the DOAG.
To close out the panel, Ms. Leberer asked each of the panelists in turn on how we can continue to facilitate MC efforts throughout the region. Ms. Marino responded, “it is important to invest in our young professionals by continually exposing them to opportunities like the MC Young Champions internship program, the Bill Raynor MC Scholarship for masters and doctorate level students, and professional fellowship programs. We need to encourage our young people to obtain their higher education and then come back to our islands to contribute to our islands’ development.” In turn, Mr. Mudong emphasized the true reason behind conservation – the people. “We continually conserve and manage our resources for the sake of the people, not just the environment. At the end of the day, we are working to ensure that our environment remains intact and pristine for our children and the future generations to come.”
