PALAU, Ngardmau State, Babeldaob Island - March 2010
Construction of a 280-foot-long boardwalk in support of conserving the 1,512-acre Taki Conservation Area in perpetuity
The Ngardmau Waterfall is Palau’s tallest waterfall and one of Palau’s most visited tourist sites, receiving several busloads of tourists every day. The waterfall, located on Babeldaob Island, was designated the “Taki” Conservation Area in 2005 and expanded in area in 2010. The conservation area includes a variety of terrestrial habitats, with upland old-growth forest, savanna, river, swamp forest, and secondary forest. The Conservation Area is part of the Middle Ridge Important Bird Area, and the endangered Micronesian Megapode has been observed in the site, in addition to other endemic birds. There is increasing local concern about the safety and stability of the trail. Visitors must walk down a series of steep stairs cut into the hillside, follow a low-lying, muddy path through the forest, and ford a stream before they reach the waterfall. Erosion and sedimentation into the river have increased substantially from constant foot traffic along this dirt trail, threatening the community water source, river fauna, and marine flora and fauna at the river mouth. In collaboration with the Palau Conservation Society (PCS) Seacology will fund one of the most urgent components of the restoration of the trail, namely the design and construction of a boardwalk over a 280-foot-long area that passes through low-lying forest. 
UPDATE June 2011 - The plastic lumber arrived in Palau in mid February. Palau Conservation Society (PCS) successfully had the lumber released from the dock and it has been transported to the top of the Taki trail. There is an ongoing project at the Taki trail to complete a monorail from the top of the Taki trail to the bottom. As soon as the rail is finished, it will be used to transport the lumber down the hill. A member of the Reserve Board at Lake Ngardok has been assisting Ngardmau State Personnel is deciding where the lumber will go and where the portion of the boardwalk will be placed. When all parts are in place, then assembly of the boardwalk will begin. Simultaneously, PCS worked with its partner at PICRC to do sediment monitoring of the Diongradid River. Data was collected for a month in February to March, including during some high rain events. After the boardwalk is installed, the monitors will be replaced in the river and another month of data will be collected to judge the impacts of management. PCS has also been working on a management plan for Ngardmau with a community-based planning team, and this is nearly complete. The management plan includes activities to ensure that all of Ngardmau's protected areas have enhanced surveillance and enforcement and activities to reduce sedimentation occur.
Indicates full or partial funding by Seacology Japan
