COUNTRY REPORT Micronesia (Federated States Of)
COUNTRY REPORT
Micronesia (Federated States of)
Rome, 2014 FAO, at the request of its member countries, regularly monitors the world´s forests and their management and uses through the Global Forest Resources Assessment (FRA). This country report is prepared as a contribution to the FAO publication, the Global Forest Resources Assessment 2015
(FRA 2015).
The content and the structure are in accordance with the recommendations and guidelines given by
FAO in the document Guide for country reporting for FRA 2015 (
These reports were submitted to FAO as official government documents.
The content and the views expressed in this report are the responsibility of the entity submitting the report to FAO. FAO may not be held responsible for the use which may be made of the information contained in this report. FRA 2015 – Country Report, Micronesia (Federated States of)
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Report preparation and contact persons...............................................................................................................................4
1. What is the area of forest and other wooded land and how has it changed over time? ................................................. 5
2. What is the area of natural and planted forest and how has it changed over time? ..................................................... 15
3. What are the stocks and growth rates of the forests and how have they changed? .....................................................24
4. What is the status of forest production and how has it changed over time? .................................................................38
5. How much forest area is managed for protection of soil and water and ecosystem services? ..................................... 43
6. How much forest area is protected and designated for the conservation of biodiversity and how has it changed over
time? ...................................................................................................................................................................................48
7. What is the area of forest affected by woody invasive species? .................................................................................. 51
8. How much forest area is damaged each year? ............................................................................................................ 54
9. What is the forest area with reduced canopy cover? ....................................................................................................58
10. What forest policy and regulatory framework exists to support implementation of sustainable forest management
SFM? .................................................................................................................................................................................. 59
11. Is there a national platform that promotes stakeholder participation in forest policy development? ............................ 61
12. What is the forest area intended to be in permanent forest land use and how has it changed over time? .................. 62
13. How does your country measure and report progress towards SFM at the national level? ........................................ 65
14. What is the area of forest under a forest management plan and how is this monitored? ........................................... 67
15. How are stakeholders involved in the management decision making for publicly owned forests? .............................. 69
16. What is the area of forest under an independently verified forest certification scheme? .............................................70
17. How much money do governments collect from and spend on forests? .....................................................................72
18. Who owns and manages the forests and how has this changed? ..............................................................................74
19. How many people are directly employed in forestry? ................................................................................................. 78
20. What is the contribution of forestry to Gross Domestic Product (GDP)? .................................................................... 80
21. What is forest area likely to be in the future ...............................................................................................................81
3FRA 2015 – Country Report, Micronesia (Federated States of)
Report preparation and contact persons
Contact persons
The present report was prepared by the following person(s)
Name (FAMILY
NAME, first name)
Institution/address Email Tables
No report has been received N/A N/A N/A from Micronesia. This
report is the result of a desk study prepared by the FRA secretariat in Rome, which is based on the existing available information using the established format for FRA
2015 country reports
N/A N/A N/A N/A
N/A N/A N/A N/A
N/A N/A N/A N/A
Introductory Text
Place an introductory text on the content of this report
The Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) is a collection of four island states: Yap, Pohnpei, Chuuk, and Kosrae. These states account for over 600 islands that stretch 2900 km across the Caroline Islands of the northwest Pacific Ocean. Temperatues are warm and humidity is high with frequent intense rainfall, especially in the western part of the Carolines. Occasional typhoons cause severe damage, primarily in the western part of the islands. Forests are composed of medium- to large-diameter trees of several tropical species, interspersed with agroforest in the more populated areas.
Inventory data in this report were derived from a forest inventory conducted in 2005 on Kosrae, and 2006 in
Yap, Chuuk, and Pohnpei by a multinational crew that included foresters from the FSM, American Samoa, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service.
Desk Study?
Check "yes" if this survey is a Desk Study, "no" otherwise
Desk Study? yes
4
FRA 2015 – Country Report, Micronesia (Federated States of)
1. What is the area of forest and other wooded land and how has it changed over time?
Documents for this question:
• Guide for country reporting FRA 2015
• FRA 2015 Terms and Definitions
1.1 Categories and definitions
Category Definition
Forest Land spanning more than 0.5 hectares with trees higher than 5 meters and a canopy cover of more than
10 percent or trees able to reach these thresholds in situ. It does not include land that is predominantly under agricultural or urban land use.
Other wooded land Land not classified as "Forest" spanning more than 0.5 hectares with trees higher than 5 meters and a canopy cover of 5-10 percent or trees able to reach these thresholds ; or with a combined cover of shrubs bushes and trees above 10 percent. It does not include land that is predominantly under agricultural or urban land use.
Other land All land that is not classified as "Forest" or "Other wooded land".
...of which with tree cover Land considered as "Other land", that is predominantly agricultural or urban lands use and has patches
(sub-category) of tree cover that span more than 0.5 hectares with a canopy cover of more than 10 percent of trees able to reach a height of 5 meters at maturity. It includes bothe forest and non-forest tree species.
Inland water bodies Inland water bodies generally include major rivers, lakes and water reservoirs.
Forest expansion Expansion of forest on land that, until then, was not defined as forest.
...of which afforestation Establishment of forest through planting and/or deliberate seeding on land that, until then, was not
(sub-category) defined as forest.
...of which natural Expansion of forests through natural succession on land that, until then, was under another land use expansion of forest (sub- (e.g. forest succession on land previously used for agriculture). category)
Deforestation The conversion of forest to other land use or the longterm reduction of the tree canopy cover below the minimum 10 percent threshold.
...of which human Human induced conversion of forest to other land use or the permanent reduction of the tree canopy induced (sub-category) cover below the minimum 10 percent threshold.
Reforestation Natural regeneration or re-establishment of forest through planting and/or deliberate seeding on land already in forest land use.
reforestation (subcategory)
...of which artificial Re-establishment of forest through planting and/or deliberate seeding on land already in forest land use.
1.2 National data
1.2.1 Data sources
References to sources of information
Variables Years Additional comments
5
FRA 2015 – Country Report, Micronesia (Federated States of)
1Liu, Z., Fischer, L. In Land cover 2005-6 Data and methods available press. The Federated on the web site. Satellite data
States of Micronesia spans 2005-6.
Vegetation Mapping Using
Very High Resolution
Imagery: Methodology. U.S.
Department of Agriculture,
Forest Service, Pacific
Southwest Region, Forest
Health Protection. URL:
fhp /fhm/landcover/islands/ index.shtml
2MacLean, C. D., C. D. Forest land area 1983 N/A
Whitesell, T. G. Cole, and K. E. McDuffie. 1988.
Timber Resources of Kosrae, Pohnpei, Truk, and Yap, Federated States of Micronesia. Resource
Bulletin PSW-24, USDA
Forest Service, Pacific
Southwest Forest and Range
Experiment Station, in cooperation with Pacific
Northwest Forest and Range
Experiment Station, Portland,
OR, Berkeley, CA.
3Falanruw, M. C., C. D. Forest land area 1976 N/A
Whitesell, T. G. Cole, C.
D. MacLean, and A. H.
Ambacher. 1987a. Vegetation survey of Yap, Federated
States of Micronesia.
Resource Bulletin PSW-
RB-21, USDA Forest
Service, Berkely, CA.
4Falanruw, M. C., T. G. Cole, Forest land area 1976 N/A
A. H. Ambacher, K. E.
McDuffie, and J. E. Maka.
1987b. Vegetation Survey of Moen, Dublon, Fefan, and Eten, State of Truk, Federated
States of Micronesia.
Resource Bulletin PSW-20,
Pacific Southwest and Pacific
Northwest Forest and Range
Experiment Stations, USDA
Forest Service, Berkeley, CA.
6FRA 2015 – Country Report, Micronesia (Federated States of)
5MacLean, C. D., T. G. Forest land area 1983 N/A
Cole, C. D. Whitesell, M.
V. Falanruw, and A. H.
Ambacher. 1986. Vegetation survey of Pohnpei, Federated
States of Micronesia.
PSW-18, Pacific Southwest
Forest and Range Experiment
Station, USDA Forest
Service.
6Whitesell, C. D., C. D. Forest land area 1983 N/A
MacLean, M. C. Falanruw,
T. G. Cole, and A. H.
Ambacher. 1986. Vegetation
Survey of Kosrae, Federated
States of Micronesia.
Resource Bulletin PSW-
RB-17, U.S.D.A. Forest
Service, Berkeley, CA.
1.2.2 Classification and definitions
National class Definition
Timberland Forest land capable of producing at least 1.4 cubic meters per hectare (20 ft3/acre) per year of industrial wood and not withdrawn from timber utilization.
Upland Forest Highland forest of tropical, primarily native and naturalized, tree species
Mangrove Forest Lowland, tidally inundated forest composed of mangrove species.
Palm Forest A forest composed primarily of palm species.
Swamp Forest A perennially-wet substrate forest in lowland areas where drainage is hindered.
Agroforest Trees, shrubs, and herbs are cultivated for food or medecines among a cover of other forest trees.
Other forest land, steep or scrub
Secondary vegetation A vegetation type characterized by small, fast-growing trees and vines, usually weedy invaders.
12.5 cm dbh) because of adverse site conditions or land that is physically unsuited for the production of continuous crops of industrial wood because of rocky or steep terrain." / Forest land incapable of producing trees of merchantable size ( 12.5 cm dbh) because of adverse site conditions or land that is physically unsuited for the production of continuous crops of industrial wood because of rocky or steep terrain.
Nonforest land Land that has never supported forests or land that formerly supported forests but is developed for nonforest use.
Savanna/Other Shrub/Grass Nonforest land with less than 10 percent tree cover that supports grass, shrub, fern, or other vegetation.
Cropland Nonforest land used for growing food or fiber crops.
7FRA 2015 – Country Report, Micronesia (Federated States of)
Barren Nonforest land that has little or no vegetation cover.
Urban Builtup Nonforest land that is urban land use.
Urban Cultivated Nonforest land that is under cultivation in urban areas.
Marsh Nonforest wetland.
Water Streams, lakes, or other water bodies.
1.2.3 Original data
Forest area
1983 Area (ha)
Land class
Forest land:
Timberland 24326
Other forest:
Steep 6043
Scrub 601
Total forest land 30970
Secondary vegetation 3,861
Agroforest 20072
Nonforest 5456
Water 266
All lands 60625
8FRA 2015 – Country Report, Micronesia (Federated States of)
Data from tables dated 1983 (MacLean et al. 1988) did not separate inland water from nonforest lands. The vegetation survey reports by MacLean et al. (1986), Whitesell et al. (1986) and Falanruw et al. (1987a b), where vegetation types were mapped, does report the area of inland water for each island group. These values were subtracted from the total nonforest figure here and included as Water.
FSM State
2005-2006
Forest Chuuk Kosrae Pohnpei Yap Grand Total
hectares
Upland 1678 7378 31730 19546 3129
Forest
Agroforest 4295 1492 5912 2731 14429
Mangrove 1287 1397 5658 1067 9409
Forest
Palm Forest 79 01832 01910
Forest
Swamp 099 580 456 25
Vegetation
Secondary 312 263 896 398 1869
subtotal
Forested 7651 10985 33942 7349 59928
Nonforest
Other
Savanna/ 277 6987 1657 2927
Shrub/
Grass
Cropland 60 212 679
16 Barren 17 574 113
Urban 313 127 393 292 1125
Builtup
9FRA 2015 – Country Report, Micronesia (Federated States of)
Urban 213 177 178 121 690
Cultivated
Marsh 222 61 134 125 543
Water 57 23 33 9121
subtotal
Nonforest 1159 412 1742 2284 5598
Total
Grand 8810 11397 35685 9634 65526
1.3 Analysis and processing of national data
1.3.1 Adjustment
Forest area
Calibration factor 1983 = (70000/60625) = 1.15463917525773
Calibration factor 2006 = (70000/65526) = 1.068278241
1983 1983 2006 2006
Area (ha) FAO Area (ha) FAO
Calibrated Calibrated
Area (ha) Area (ha)
Total Forest 54903 63393 59928 64020
6300 Other Land 5722 5477 5851
307 Inland Water 0121 129
Total 60625 70000 65526 70000
10 FRA 2015 – Country Report, Micronesia (Federated States of)
1.3.2 Estimation and forecasting
Forest area
FAO Calibrated FAO Calibrated Total change
Data 1983 (ha) Data 2006 (ha) in 23 years
Area # per year
All forest land 63393 64020 627 27.25
Other land 6478 5851 -449 -19.52
Inland water 129 129 00
Total 70000 70000
1.3.3 Reclassification
Forest area
National class FAO reclassification
Timberland Forest
Upland Forest Forest
Mangrove Forest Forest
Palm Forest Forest
Swamp Forest Forest
Agroforest Forest
Secondary vegetation Forest
Other forest land Forest
Nonforest land Other land
Savanna/Other Shrub/Grass Other land
Cropland Other land
Barren Other land
11 FRA 2015 – Country Report, Micronesia (Federated States of)
Urban Builtup Other land
Urban Cultivated Other land
Marsh Other land
Water Inland water bodies
The national classes of agroforest and secondary vegetation were combined with forest land classes timberland, steep and scrub forest for the 1983 data. Agroforest and secondary vegetation were combined with upland, mangrove, palm, and swamp forests to calculate totals for forest cover in the 2006 data.
1.4 Data
Table 1a
Area (000 hectares)
Categories
1990 2005 2000 2010 2015
Forest 63.584 63.993 63.856 64.129 64.265
Other wooded land 00000
Other land 6.163 5.968 5.87 5.773 5.637
N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
Inland water bodies 0.253 0.176 0.137 0.098 0.098
TOTAL 70.00 70.00 70.00 70.00 70.00
... of which with tree cover
Table 1b
Annual forest establishment / loss (000 hectares per year)
...of which of introduced species (000 hectares per year)
Categories
1990 2000 2005 2010 1990 2000 2005 2010
N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
Forest expansion
... of which afforestation
N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
... of which natural expansion of forest
Deforestation N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
N/A Reforestation N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
... of which human induced N/A
12 FRA 2015 – Country Report, Micronesia (Federated States of)
... of which artificial
N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
Tiers
Category Tier for status
Tier for reported trend
Forest Tier 1 Tier 1
Other wooded land Tier 1 Tier 1
Forest expansion N/A N/A
Deforestation N/A N/A
Reforestation N/A N/A
Tier criteria
Category Tier for status
Tier for reported trend
• Forest Tier 3 : Data sources: Either recent
Tier 3 : Estimate based on repeated
• Other wooded land (less than 10 years ago) National Forest
• Afforestation Inventory or remote sensing, with ground Estimate based on repeated compatible tier compatible tiers 3 (tier for status) Tier 2 :
• Natural expansion of forest
• Reforestation truthing, or programme for repeated compatible NFIs Tier 2 : Data sources:
• Deforestation Full cover mapping / remote sensing or old NFI (more than 10 years ago) Tier 1 :
Other
2 or combination tier 3 and 2 or 1 (tier for status) Tier 1 : Other
1.5 Comments
Comments related to data definitions etc
Category Comments on the reported trends
Forest Forest area for FRA 2000 did not include N/A the agroforest and secondary vegetation as defined above. It is included here because of the gradation between forest types and no quantitative threshold was defined.
Other wooded land N/A N/A
Other land N/A N/A
Other land with tree cover N/A N/A
Inland water bodies N/A
Inland water is not expected to change systematically through time. Construction or demolition of reservoirs or changes in drainage regimes may lead to changes in inland water. Observed differences likely are attributable to differences in land cover mapping and imagery resolution.
Forest expansion N/A N/A
Deforestation N/A N/A
13 FRA 2015 – Country Report, Micronesia (Federated States of)
Reforestation N/A N/A
Other general comments to the table
FRA 2000 reported 30,000 ha closed forest, 4,000 ha secondary vegetation, and 20,000 ha of agroforest.
14 FRA 2015 – Country Report, Micronesia (Federated States of)
2. What is the area of natural and planted forest and how has it changed over time?
Documents for this question:
• Guide for country reporting FRA 2015
• FRA 2015 Terms and Definitions
2.1 Categories and definitions
Term Definition
forest
Naturally regenerated Forest predominantly composed of trees established through natural regeneration.
Naturalized introduced Other naturally regenerated forest where the tree species are predominantly non-native and do not need species human help to reproduce/maintain populations over time.
Introduced species A species, subspecies or lower taxon occurring outside its natural range (past or present) and dispersal potential (i.e. outside the range it occupies naturally or could occupy without direct or indirect introduction or care by humans).
Category Definition
Primary forest Naturally regenerated forest of native species where there are no clearly visible indications of human activities and the ecological processes are not significantly disturbed.
Other naturally Naturally regenerated forest where there are clearly visible indications of human activities. regenerated forest
...of which of introduced Other naturally regenerated forest where the trees are predominantly of introduced species. species (sub-category)
(sub-sub category)
...of which naturalized Other naturally regenerated forest where the trees are predominantly of naturalized introduced species.
Planted forest Forest predominantly composed of trees established through planting and/or deliberate seeding.
...of which of introduced Planted forest where the planted/seeded trees are predominantly of introduced species. species (sub-category)
Mangroves Area of forest and other wooded land with mangrove vegetation.
...of which planted (sub-
Mangroves predominantly composed of trees established through planting. category)
2.2 National data
2.2.1 Data sources
References to sources of information
Variables Years Additional comments
15
FRA 2015 – Country Report, Micronesia (Federated States of)
1Liu, Z., Fischer, L. In press. Land cover 2005-6
Mapping of The Federated spans 2005-6.
States of Micronesia Using
Very High Resolution
Data and methods available
Preliminary Vegetation on the web site. Satellite data Imagery: Methodology. U.S.
Department of Agriculture,
Forest Service, Pacific
Southwest Region, Forest
Health Protection. URL:
fhp /fhm/landcover/islands/ index.shtml
2Falanruw, M. C., C. D. Forest land area 1976 N/A
Whitesell, T. G. Cole, C.
D. MacLean, and A. H.
Ambacher. 1987a. Vegetation survey of Yap, Federated
States of Micronesia.
Resource Bulletin PSW-
RB-21, USDA Forest
Service, Berkely, CA.
3Falanruw, M. C., T. G. Cole, Forest land area 1976 N/A
A. H. Ambacher, K. E.
McDuffie, and J. E. Maka.
1987b. Vegetation Survey of Moen, Dublon, Fefan, and Eten, State of Truk, Federated
States of Micronesia.
Resource Bulletin PSW-20,
Pacific Southwest and Pacific
Northwest Forest and Range
Experiment Stations, USDA
Forest Service, Berkeley, CA.
4MacLean, C. D., T. G. Forest land area 1983 N/A
Cole, C. D. Whitesell, M.
V. Falanruw, and A. H.
Ambacher. 1986. Vegetation survey of Pohnpei, Federated
States of Micronesia.
PSW-18, Pacific Southwest
Forest and Range Experiment
Station, USDA Forest
Service.
5Whitesell, C. D., C. D. Forest land area 1983 N/A
MacLean, M. C. Falanruw,
T. G. Cole, and A. H.
Ambacher. 1986. Vegetation
Survey of Kosrae, Federated
States of Micronesia.
Resource Bulletin PSW-
RB-17, U.S.D.A. Forest
Service, Berkeley, CA.
16 FRA 2015 – Country Report, Micronesia (Federated States of)
2.2.2 Classification and definitions
National class Definition
Upland forest Highland forest of tropical, primarily native and naturalized, tree species.
Palm forest A forest composed primarily of palm species.
Swamp forest Forest occuring in areas where soils are inudated with fresh or slightly saline water.
Mangrove forest Lowland, tidally inundated forest composed of mangrove tree species.
Atoll forest Primarily native forest occuring in the interior of larger, wetter atolls.
Plantation forest Stands of planted trees used for commercial purposes.
Dwarf forest Highland, wet moss forest with low growing trees.
Secondary vegetation A vegetation type characterized by small, fast-growing trees and vines, usually weedy invaders.
Agroforest Land where trees, shrubs, and herbs are cultivated for food or medecines among a cover of other forest trees.
Agroforest w/ coconuts Land where primarily coconut trees are cultivated for food and building materials among a cover of other forest trees.
Coconut plantations Stands of planted coconut trees used for commercial purposes.
Strand Coastal vegetation occuring in narrow strips on sandy, rocky coasts. May include forest species as this vegetation grades into interior forest.
Marsh, fresh A perennially-wet substrate forest in lowland areas where drainage is hindered. Dominated by fresh water.
Marsh, salt A perennially-wet substrate forest in lowland areas where drainage is hindered. Dominated by salt water.
Grasslands Nonforest land with less than 10 percent tree cover that is dominated by grasses and may be associated with, shrubs, ferns, and other vegetation.
Cropland Nonforest land used for growing food or fiber crops.