Rodent eradication in Palau shows early signs of success

After years of planning a rodent eradication operation on Kayangel Atoll, Palau, has just been completed and is already showing early signs of success. “So far, there have been no reports of rats on any of Kayangel’s four islands”, said Anu Gupta – Conservation and Protected Areas Program Director for Palau Conservation Society (PCS / BirdLife Partner). “Within just weeks of the operation there have already been reports that agricultural harvests have improved, with bananas and coconuts harvested without any rat damage. Although an official declaration of success will not come for at least a year, we are cautiously optimistic”.

Kayangel State is an atoll at the northern end of Palau. Four islands make up the atoll, including the Important Bird Area of Ngeriungs Island and three other islands of Orak, Ngerebelas, and Kayangel island. Together the four islands cover 160 hectares, and are home to Palau’s biggest population of Micronesian Megapode Megapodius laperouse – an Endangered bird on the IUCN Red List that triggered the rodent eradication project.

The rodent eradication operation was led by the PCS and involved distributing poison bait widely across the atoll.

The greatest factor in the success of the project was the high level of voluntary community participation. A total of 60 community members from Kayangel – along with six volunteers, eight PCS staff and one BirdLife Pacific Partnership staff – participated in the field operations. It was a very demanding and complex operation which carefully balanced the needs of the local people, endemic birds and unpredictable weather conditions. In order to manage it, half of PCS’s small staff relocated to Kayangel during the project.

“So far, the field component of the project has required 885 person-days of work”, added Anu. “PCS relied on Kayangel-based community leaders during the preparation and implementation phase and for treatment in culturally taboo areas”.