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A combination transect approach is planned for the horizontal and vertical ecosystem studies across the Pacific islands. The horizontal transect component is to connect the naturally fragmented Pacific-wide biomes into a research and conservation network. Indigenous upland forests, which are fragments of the Pacific-wide montane tropical rain forest biome, are still extant on many Pacific high islands. They range from the species impoverished outlier islands of Eastern and Northern Polynesia to those of the islands rich in biodiversity in the forests of the Western Pacific and Asia, such as Borneo and New Guinea.

Recognising the ongoing need for regional capacity building in coral reef survey methods, SPREP and the State Department of the United States provided funding for a course in reef monitoring techniques for Palau citizens. Palau was chosen because of a previously identified need for the training of Palau as citizens (Otobed 1994) and a strong national commitment to sustainable development as outlined in the National Environmental Management Strategy (Iosefa Maiava and the Bureau of Natural Resources 1994). The course itself was aimed at training citizens from Palau in standard reef monitoring techniques using a similar format to that of the successful course held previously in Papua New Guinea. This report summarises the training course and includes recommendations for future training and development of reef monitoring programmes with particular emphasis on the Republic of Palau.