In November, the Margaret A. Cargill Foundation's Environment Program awarded CSF $100,000 as part of our expanding marine initiative. This award will fund a decision-makers workshop and a mentored groundwork field analysis. The decision-makers component is a two-day training workshop for Palauan State and traditional government officials and resource managers. The workshop will introduce natural resource economics to these stakeholders using the nation's sea cucumber fishery as a recognizable entry point. Work in the region has demonstrated the need to adapt the CSF training model to better target traditional government officials for whom time and standard education models can be a constraint.

As put by a previous participant: “This course was outstanding! I would like to be able to offer an abbreviated version to our key community and national decision-makers.” The workshop will introduce natural resource economics to these stakeholders. Participants will be from selected from State, local Legislative and (village-level) Klobak authorities. This grant also funds CSF to provide technical assistance with a high-priority conservation and development project. This (as well as two other) groundwork field analysis will be identified during our upcoming two-week Economic Tools for Marine Conservation training course held in Palau in March of 2014.

Possible projects will emerge from issues identified by workshop members, but could include an economic analysis of the Parties to Nauru Agreement (PNA) tuna fishery; an analysis of fishery management options for sustainable development and profit maximization; Territorial User Rights in Fisheries (TURFs); the economics of enforcement; and/or the economics of blue carbon. High priorities will be established through discussions with CSF regional collaborators and our Micronesia Conservation Trust (MCT) partners. The grant is part of a broader marine initiative which includes additional capacity-building and strategic analyses, in collaboration with a grant received in August from the Packard Foundation as well as support from the New Zealand's Pacific Island Countries Participation Fund (PIC Fund).