Biodiversity-Friendly Criteria

Feel good about what you buy! Local Products are Biodiversity-Friendly or Low-Carbon and made by people in Palau from local ingredients and materials sourced sustainably:

• Added-value agricultural, fishery, and “environmental” products and “low-carbon” (e.g. locally-made and low-plastic) products (preserved/processed foods, gifts, etc.)

Biodiversity-Friendly:

• Excluded products: Any product that uses a protected species (turtles, dugong, red coral, etc.) even if only sold in Palau.

• No use of protected species. See list. 

• No use of threatened plants: See list.

• Nothing that promotes growth of invasive species.

• Products that celebrate or educate about local biodiversity and/or traditional cultural uses of biodiversity.

Low-Carbon:

• Plastics: Avoids use of plastic in the product.

• Packaging: Avoids or minimizes plastic packaging. No Styrofoam packaging. 

• Primary ingredients locally-sourced and locally-grown materials (versus imported materials)

• Made locally (not imported).

• Made from recycled materials.

People:

• Valid Businesses with Business License and Food Handling Permit, or a valid "Chad er a Makit" (Market seller) 

• Final product Made in Palau, Producer physically present in Palau.

• GEF6 does not discriminate on the basis of race or ethnicity.

The label was designed by Hiromi Ito and donated by the Palau International Coral Reef Center (PICRC)

Biodiversity is the diversity of all of Palau’s living creatures and their habitats and ecosystems.  At least 8,000 species have been found in Palau, and there are an estimated tens of thousands more. Palau has high endemism (meaning, found only here). Palau exceeds all Micronesian and many Polynesian islands in its biodiversity. 

Biodiversity is essential to food security, cultural practices, food webs, and ecosystem services. We use Palau’s biodiversity for fuel, food, shelter, medicines, income, and other goods.

Palau has protected many of its species, with complete “no-take” status for all marine mammals (dugong, whales), Hawksbill Sea Turtles (ngasech) and all turtle eggs, all sharks and rays, Kemedukl, Maml, and almost all birds. Other species are restricted by season, size, or status: Green Sea Turtles (melob), Groupers, Rabbitfish, Rock Lobsters, Mangrove and Coconut Crabs, Oysters, Trochus (semum), and tuna. 

Many species are only for use in Palau and have an export ban: Reef fish, lobsters, Mangrove and Coconut Crabs, Wild Giant Clams, sea cucumbers, mussels, multiple aquarium species (Acropora coral, reef fish, anemones), and fruit bats. See Protected Species.

There are many endangered and threatened species in Palau, including the dugong, Micronesian Imperial Pigeon (belochel), Hawksbill Sea Turtle, both bat species present, and Kmekumer tree, among others. These species need our help to survive and thrive. See Endangered Species. There are several plants proposed for the Endangered and Threatened list. See Threatened Plants.