Palau

Palau is a country in the western Pacific Ocean. It is made up of some 340 coral and volcanic islands on the Kyushu-Palau Ridge. The Palau archipelago is located in the southwestern corner of Micronesia. Most of the archipelago is surrounded by a huge barrier system, which is continuous in the west and broken in the east. The larger inhabited islands are Babelthuap, Koror, Malakal, Arakabesan and Peleliu. North of the Babelthuap, the sparsely populated Kayangel Islands and the high coral islands of Angaur, Sonsorol, Pulo Anna and Tobi south of Peleliu are outside of the barrier reef system. Palau has a long history of environmental protection. The Ngerukewid Islands and its surroundings, for example, are protected by the Ngerukewid Islands Wildlife Preserve, which was created in 1956. One species of saltwater crocodile, Crocodylus porosus, is native to Palau, and is found in varying numbers in mangrove forests and parts of the Rock Islands. In 2009, Palau announced the creation of the world's first shark sanctuary. The country has prohibited all commercial shark fishing in the waters of its exclusive economic zone. The sanctuary protects around 600 000 square kilometers of ocean. Palau's marine environment is rich in fauna, which is balanced by abundant terrestrial flora. This richness stems from Palau's closeness to Indonesia, New Guinea and the Philippines. Palau has more marine species than any other similar-sized area in the world. Corals, fish, snails, clams, sea cucumbers, starfish, sea urchins, sea anemones, jellyfish, squid and feather-duster worms are abundant and diverse.