For Hokule'a crew member and The Nature Conservancy of Hawai'i staffer Eric Co, there was a very satisfying balance between the gift the voyaging canoe brought to Palau, and what Palau gave the Hawaiian members of the canoe crew.

"We're helping reinvigorate traditional navigation in Palau, and they're helping us with conservation," said Co, who crewed on the canoe roundtrip from Yap to Palau.

The island nation has an active conservation program that sets aside marine areas as reserves with the specific goal of improving fishing success immediately, and protecting the resource for the future. Hawai'i folks were impressed by Palau's ethic of marine conservation, and that it seems to be driven by the communities, rather than by the national government.

"It doesn't work from the top down," said filmmaker and veteran Hokule'a sailor Na'alehu Anthony. The villages have pushed for their own marine reserves and fishing restrictions, and it seems to work, he said.

"Now everybody is screaming for conservation, because it means they get more fish. That's been their experience," Anthony said.

Palau folks took the canoe voyagers on tours of the famed Rock Islands and discussed their fishery management techniques.

"The people are seeing the resources coming back. They see it working," said Nature Conservancy official Pauline Sato, who also sailed there on the canoe.

She said Palau communities recognize the need to protect their fishery resources for future generations, and they have used both cultural knowledge and modern marine science to develop the most effective management techniques.

"They have no problem finding balance between traditional knowledge and science. It is the village chiefs who seek out the scientists," Co said.

Palau president Tommy Esang Remengesau Jr. sailed the Yap-to-Palau leg, and Sato said the other crew members were impressed by his understanding of and commitment to conservation.

"To have the president of a country say the things we want to hear was so impressive," Sato said. "I had a glimpse of what they're doing here, conservation-wise. We have some of this in Hawai'i but nowhere near the extent to which they have executed it here."

One key to Palau's success is the communities that live around the marine ecosystems are demanding the protection of those areas and supporting active monitoring of the progress. "They know they have a treasured resource," Sato said.

If you have a question or concern about the Hawaiian environment, drop a note to Jan TenBruggencate at P.O. Box 524, Lihu'e, HI 96766 or jant@honoluluadvertiser.com. Or call him at (808) 245-3074.