Repository: 4 items

Palau document repository

Global land use of diets in a small island community: a case study of Palau in the Pacific

2021
Journal Article

Modern dietary habits in communities are linked and are part of the global food supply chain. To achieve sustainable food production and consumption, communicating the impact associated with food production and dietary choices at community level to consumers is important. However, previous footprint studies have primarily focussed on food consumption at the national level and neglected community–level consumption activities. This study surveyed the diets of a small island community and linked the results with multi-region land footprint analysis in Ollei Village, Republic of Palau. The analysis was used to determine the extent to which the dietary lifestyles of communities depend on external land use through the global supply chain. We showed that the global food supply chain has reached this corner of the world, and the dietary habits of the community are already heavily dependent on processed and imported foods. The community and country are highly dependent on large land use in some major producer/exporting countries through the global food supply chain. In addition, the amount of external land used for food production exceeds the biocapacity of the agricultural land in the community and country. This study bridges the gap between community–level consumption activities and national-scale footprint analysis, and quantitatively assesses the impact of consumption activities at the community level on the global environment. The results and approach of this study could contribute to the development and implementation of vertically integrated food policies between the national and community level in Palau.

Material Flow Analysis Applied to Household Solid Waste and Marine Litter on a Small Island Developing State

2011
Journal Article

Small island developing states (SIDS) have limited access to imported goods, and their associated patterns of consumption and waste generation are affected by space limitations. They are also impacted by the global presence of marine litter that reaches their shores from the ocean. A material flow analysis (MFA) was applied to household solid waste and marine litter collected from Kayangel Island in the Republic of Palau to provide a comprehensive characterization and spatial accounting of the inflow of nonputrescible materials that become solid waste. Approximately 15,100 kg of nonputrescible solid waste are generated annually on Kayangel Island (0.42 kg per capita per day), with 57% being marine litter derived from the ocean and 43% derived from household activities. Household generation of nonputrescible solid waste (that ignores inputs of marine litter) ranged from 0.14–0.18kg/capita-day0.14–0.18  kg/capita-day<math display="inline" overflow="scroll"><mn>0.14</mn><mo>–</mo><mn>0.18</mn><mtext> </mtext><mtext> </mtext><mi>kg</mi><mo>/</mo><mi>capita</mi><mtext mathvariant="normal">-</mtext><mi>day</mi></math> for the school in session and nonschool periods, respectively. The most significant waste categories (by mass) include mixed material and nonrecyclable plastic wastes from both household sources and ocean-derived marine litter. Once nonputrescible solid waste is introduced, 0.39 kg per capita per day accumulates, 0.02 kg per capita per day is removed from the island via shipping, and 0.01 kg per capita per day is processed by open pit burning. Applying an MFA to solid waste on a SIDS links local and global solid waste generation with material fates, and may assist solid waste management practices.