Island-wide Vision and Core Values

Vision and Core Values for Development on Babeldaob, Palau

Babeldaob Island Joint Coordination Body (JCB)

Adopted September 23, 2020

Our Vision:

In 20 years, the 10 States on Babeldaob jointly envision a beautiful, interconnected island with healthy Palauan communities and a traditional-value-driven, resilient, and shared economy that:

• Maintains and safeguards resilient, biodiverse natural habitats and ecosystem services on land and sea, and that offers a sense of serenity, with respect to State Development Goals

• Enables families to “come home” and live, shop, play outdoors, and practice traditions in healthy, safe, culturally thriving neighborhoods or on sustainably developed private lands that address climate change.

• Features clean water sources and continuously increasing, sustainably grown and harvested foods, with strong taro and fishery production that blends traditional practices and modern techniques

• Steadily grows and diversifies a prosperous economy that is adaptable and prepared for change, in line with community values, and which supports specialty and eco-friendly locally-owned enterprises, diverse small businesses that fulfill local needs, and packaged, participatory tourism with collective benefits for every State.

• Has an educated and well-governed populace that can equitably rely on environmentally-friendly modern infrastructure and public transportation

• Offers robust, affordable, equally accessible social services that are managed cooperatively and peacefully and which meet the needs of men, women, youth, and vulnerable peoples

• Proactively regulates and minimizes foreign influences to add value to local enterprises while respecting Palauan cultural and natural heritage.

• Purposefully minimizes waste and energy use.

Our Core Values:

• Growth and development on Babeldaob will SAFEGUARD the environment (on land and sea), with planned MITIGATION for environmental and historical or cultural losses.

• Decisions will be PARTICIPATORY and LOCAL, and INCLUSIVE of multiple genders and social groups.

• Growth and development will show RESPECT and PROVIDE PROTECTION for culture, families, and nature.

• Development will SCALE UP successful projects.

• Change will occur SAFELY, with MINIMAL WASTE OR POLLUTION, and with energy and investment efficiency.

• Development will be PLANNED strategically and with consideration of cross-border impacts and community benefits.

• HUMAN and NATURAL CAPACITIES will increase as Babeldaob develops.

• DIVERSE, APPROPRIATE INVESTMENT will be sought, assessed, and influenced so as to provide equitable access and collective benefits; Investment that detracts from the Vision may be declined.

• CLIMATE RESILIENCY will underlie all development, construction, and adaptation.