Vocabulary:

• conservation—to protect something from harm, loss, or change
• ecosystem—a community of living things together with their physical environment
• erosion—the movement of broken-down rock, soil, or sand from one place to another by running water or wind
• invasive species—living things that do not naturally belong to an ecosystem
• pollution—anything harmful or poisonous that is put into an environment
• resilience—an ecosystem’s ability to resist or recover from changing conditions (adjective: resilient)
• sediment—very small pieces of broken-down rocks
• watershed—an area of land that catches rain and moves it downhill into a body of water

Over the last thousand years or more, human activities such as farming, raising livestock, and land development have transformed Pacific islands. Clearing trees and other native plants loosens the soil. As a result, a greater amount of sediment washes downstream when it rains. When the sediment finally reaches the ocean, it settles like a blanket over coral reefs and can kill corals, the animals that build reefs.

This video features the Yela watershed forest on the island of Kosrae in Micronesia. With its rare Ka tree forest, the Yela watershed is a great example of a healthy and resilient ecosystem. The upland forest, the freshwater swamp, the mangroves, and the coral reef all function together to ensure that only pure water runs out to the ocean. Healthy and resilient ecosystems benefit the organisms that live there and nearby human communities.

Kosrae uses ecosystem-based management to protect the Yela watershed. Scientists create maps and models to understand how changes in watersheds can affect coral reef systems. Island resource managers then use these tools to develop plans to make their watersheds more resilient.

Recognizing the importance of the Yela watershed ecosystem, environmental groups, the 10 families who own the land, and the Kosrae government partnered to protect the Ka forest. Through a form of agreement called a conservation easement, the landowners receive payment in exchange for not allowing development on the land. A conservation easement is one example of how policymakers and local communities can make land-management decisions that benefit the whole community and increase resilience against climate change.

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