The island country of Palau (located 500 miles southwest of the Philippines) consists of approximately 340 islands for a total area of 180 square miles—the fourth smallest country in the world. Palau has the most diverse coral fauna of Micronesia and a high density of tropical marine habitats. In addition to coral reefs, mangroves, and seagrass beds, it has deep algal beds, mud basins, current lagoon bottoms, tidal channels, and anoxic (oxygen-empty or oxygen-low) basins within the rock islands that provide habitat to microbes that have adjusted to those special conditions. The rich coral environment draws snorkelers from around to world to an area nicknamed "the underwater Serengeti."
As visitors increased, the islands began to suffer from the strain. Plants and animals found nowhere else were being threatened. The "paradise" that people were coming to enjoy was, ironically, being destroyed by their presence. With a resident population of 22,000 and tourist numbers reaching 150,000 in 2015, Palau's small land mass and population were being overwhelmed by its visitors.
In response, Palau modified its immigration laws in 2017 to include protection of the environment, becoming the first country to do so.
Palau's approach to the problem has been a friendly, educational ad campaign called the Palau Pledge. A whimsical, but thoughtful, four-and-a-half-minute movie titled The Giant became required viewing for all inbound fights to Palau. Starring children of the island as the actors, and a huge purple creature representing island visitors, the movie approaches the problems of tourism with a welcoming, but firm, approach. It is meant to create awareness, dispel ignorance, and show the pathway for visitors to enter the island not as consumers or users, but as new friends of the land and the children who live there.
At one point in the movie, the children tell the giant, "Please understand. If you keep trampling, chasing, and snatching, everything you love about our home, and everything we love about it, will be gone, never to return."
The Award-winning, Palau In-flight Movie, The Giant
The optimistic conclusion of the movie is cooperation and friendship based on the giant's willingness to learn what he needs to learn (such as the importance of not stepping on coral) to safeguard the island for the children and their future. The movie's narrator says, "We took his hand and taught him how to take care of our island paradise."

In addition to viewing the movie, visitors entering Palau are required to sign a passport pledge saying they will act in an ecologically and culturally responsible way on the island, for the sake of Palau's children and future generations of Palauans.
The Palau Pledge
Children of Palau,
I take this pledge,
as your guest,
to preserve and protect
your beautiful and unique
island home.
I vow to tread lightly,
act kindly and
explore mindfully.
I shall not take
what is not given.
I shall not harm
what does not harm me.
The only footprints
I shall leave are those
that will wash away.
The idea for the Palau Pledge came from local residents and ultimately involved children all across the country in drafting the pledge that visitors sign.

Visitors are also given a checklist of 11 dos and don'ts when they arrive in Palau: do support local businesses and communities; do learn about the culture and the people; do others to respect the custom; don’t touch or step on coral; don’t smoke in restricted areas; don’t collect marine life souvenirs; don’t feed the fish and sharks; don’t drag fins over coral when swimming; don’t take fruit or flowers from gardens; don’t litter; and don’t touch or chase the wildlife. Signage with these icons is found throughout the country.
To ensure that this isn't all just lip services, there are national policies to strengthen the enforcement of environmental protection laws, including policing and report.
Local communities and leaders have traditionally played an important role in conserving resources in Palau. A bul was used by village chiefs in ancient times to manage fish stock when the village noticed the number of fish off their shores falling. The bul was a temporary halt of all fishing activity to allow marine life to replenish and flourish. The merging of traditional and modern laws has been adopted by several states to strengthen their conservation efforts.
A more recent addition to the Palau sustainability tourist efforts is called Ol'au Palau, a system which offers exclusive experiences to travelers not based on how much money they are willing to spend, but on how they treat the Palauan environment and culture. Those who make choices demonstrating care for the islands gain trust and are invited to participate more fully in the experiences of the island—as any friend would be. It is a different kind of economy not based money, but on trust, respect, and care.
The reception of the Palau Pledge and its components by its visitors was very positive from the start. It has been reported that 96% of tourists said that ‘the pledge made them consider their actions more closely, and 65% said they used its principles during their stay to remind others about the right way to protect the delicate environment.' Because the tourist trade dropped sharply during COVID, the long term results aren't yet clear, but countries such as New Zealand and Hawaii have been impressed enough to create pledges of their own modeled on Palau's example.
The approach taken by Palau suggests some beautiful possibilities. What if we took it upon ourselves to understand and treat gently both the lands we live on and the lands we visit? How would our decisions change if we based them on the good of the children who call it home—making sure they have same (or more) resources far into the future? What if we made our laws and chose our leaders with the next generations foremost in our minds?
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Louise
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