The Annotated Ramsar List: Palau

The Annotated Ramsar List of Wetlands of International Importance

PALAU

The Convention on Wetlands came into force for Palau on 18 February 2003. Palau presently has 1 site designated as a Wetland of International Importance, with a surface area of 493 hectares.

site; date of designation; region, province, state; surface area; coordinates
site; date de désignation; région, province, état; superficie; coordonnées
sitios; fecha de designación; región, provincia, estado; área; coordenadas

Lake Ngardok. 18/10/02. Melekeok. 493 ha. 07°31'N 134°34'E. Nature Reserve. A small, natural, freshwater lake on Babeldaob island with some swamp vegetation and is the largest permanent freshwater body in Palau. It supports indigenous fishes representative of Palauan fish fauna and has a small breeding population of the CITES-listed estuarine crocodile Crocodylus porosus. The Ramsar site includes the entire protected Nature Reserve and catchment of the lake and thus also includes several streams and small areas of riverine marsh and freshwater swamp forest as well. The lake is particularly important to the small population of Melekeok State for control of floods and maintenance of water quality, and at least 11 indigenous bird species are supported as well, including the national bird, the Palau Fruit Dove or "biib" (Ptilinopus pelewensis). Wetlands International - Oceania assisted in preparation of the site designation. Ramsar site no. 1232. Most recent RIS information: 2002.