The Palau Conservation Society (PCS) welcomed a new intern to its workforce who is part of the Micronesia Challenge Young Champions (MCYC) Internship Program.
Zacateca Adelbai, a sophomore taking up Liberal Arts at the Palau Community College (PCC), had an experience in volunteering as a research assistant as she previously worked for Dr. Christopher Kitalong for the same job.
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Zaca’s work with PCS is funded through the support of the Micronesia Challenge, a regional initiative that challenges countries in Micronesia to protect 30% of near-shore marine resources and 20% of terrestrial resources by 2020. Palau accomplishes this through its Protected Areas Network (PAN) and as a nation, is well on its way to achieving this goal.
Zaca will specifically focus on reaching out to PCS members and the business community during her work.
She and other students focused their research on socioeconomics, marine biodiversity, and other projects that promote a clean Palau and local marine and terrestrial ecosystems.
She currently serves as the President of the Associated Students of PCC and she identifies herself as both Palauan and from Pohnpei.
Zaca considers herself a person who has “gained a passion for conserving the environment, not only because it’s fun to do but also quite effective in Palau where our economy really is based on how well we preserve the natural beauty of this small island.” (PR) [/restrict]