More than 2,000 fish species are found in Palau and the Big Drop-Off is a popular destination where snorkelers and scuba divers can swim amid colorful corals and see a wide array of tropical marine animals.
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Thanks in large part to government efforts, the Pacific island nation has been able to preserve its natural environment.
More than 2,000 fish species are found in Palau and the Big Drop-Off is a popular destination where snorkelers and scuba divers can swim amid colorful corals and see a wide array of tropical marine animals.
( / )KOROR, Palau — Quiet, calm and slow-paced Palau is devoid of the glitzy Western hotels that pepper other island nations in the western Pacific.
Comprised of more than 300 islands, Palau is known primarily for its breathtaking marine life. Neighboring vacation hotspots — like Phuket, Cebu and Borocay — are experiencing a commercial boom and an overflow of tourists, but Palau has been be able to hold on to its local flavor.
Billy Kwan, a tour guide who has been living in Koror, the largest town in Palau, for almost 20 years says not much has changed since the early 1990s.
“The government has been very careful in developing things here — they want to protect the nature on and around these islands,” said Kwan, pointing to the clear turquoise water filled with colorful tropical fish. “Palauans don’t need much, they like keeping things simple.”
With only one street running from the airport through the rest of the main island, Palau is no secret to diving enthusiasts around the world and visitors from Taiwan, Japan and Korea. But even with a steady increase in tourism over the last decade and a half, the country has been able to preserve its natural environment, mainly due to government efforts.
In 2005, the country vowed to conserve at least 20 percent of its forests until 2020, and 30 percent of its near shore coastal waters.
Palau President Johnson Toribiong also banned shark fishing four months ago at a United Nations meeting, encouraging the rest of the world to follow in its footsteps. The ban is the first of its kind, said Washington-based Pew Environment Group.
As a part of the Micronesia region, Palau’s lush archipelago is considered one of the most dynamic in the world. It is home to Ongeim'l Tketau, a lake with more than 20 million golden stingless jellyfish. Snorkelers can also easily spot schools of sharks at the famous Big Drop-Off, while silver swordfish and barracudas roam around a rainbow of unspoiled reefs near the Rock Islands. At a cove called Milky Way, visitors rub white silky volcano mud onto their bodies that is said to have healing purposes for one’s skin.
http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/asia/100128/palau-ecology
