Oratelruul Project

Oratelruul is located in Ollei, a village near the northern tip of Babeldaob in the Republic of Palau. It holds great cultural and historic value to the people in Ollei, as it is where Kukau el Bad, Bedengel a Mechas, Okeuil a Tellames, and the remnants of an orrangel are located. Oratelruuls connection to the origins of mesei and ruul practices make it a sacred and highly respected site. The area has a long history of agroforestry, making it an exceptional place to study the various benefits plants provide to both the ecosystem and to people. Oratelruul is a place rich in nature, history, and culture.

Udeuuid Wilt Education Project

Since 2022, Palau has observed a spreading of a certain plant disease kill an endemic species of Palau Manilkara Udeuuido. The Udeuuido is concentrated in four states of Babeldaob, of Aimeliik, Airai, Ngatpang, and Ngchesar. All of which the disease is widely observed and where trails of dead Udeuuido is observed for miles. From Ebiil, we raised this concern with other members of Palau forestry council and with the national forestry authority. Additional awareness activities include field trips with local botanist and forests experts to show the expansion of dead Udeuuido throughout the four states. Palau Forestry has begun working with a plant pathological expert to study the disease, its introduction and expansion. Ebiil is mapping impacted areas with areal drones, including identifying isolated Udeuuido in other states further away from the contaminated areas for potential seedling collection for future recovery efforts. 

The Ebiil Society has successfully engaged in community-based forestry/ terrestrial conservation for the past 18 years, through community-based tree-planting as well as youth and community outreach and education. Ebiil’s reforestation and watershed programs provide forestry infrastructure development-education, training, and monitoring -for communities and local, state, and regional government agencies. The combined knowledge, forestry resources, training, and monitoring illustrates and supports community forest restoration and protection, water conservation, and coral reef conservation. Ebiil’s success has led to a greater recognition of needed critical forestry resources, infrastructure development and training at multiple scales – from youth education to community, national, and international education and outreach, and forestry management.

Ebiil will integrate into its education programs studies and education of the Manilkara Udeuuido, its mortality, ecological and cultural significance, and best practices to avoid further spread of the disease.  Ebiil will additionally collect seedlings from uncontaminated areas of forests in Babeldaob, and propagated for restoration in other areas in order to save the specie.  Ebiil will work with partners from US Forest Service, IPIF to further develop understanding of the disease, its control and containment, and best practices for seedling collections, propagation, and restoration.  

Native Forest Restoration

Since March 2022, Ebiil Society has been working to restore native forests on the old bauxite mine fields in Ngardmau State. These mine fileds were left barren and degraded since the 1900s, specifically between 1941 and 1942 during the Japanese colonial occupation of Palau. There are at least 5 areas of similar site and conditions in Ngardmau, totaling over 100 acres. A total of 21,972 trees have been planted in four separate sites covering a total of 37.6 acres.

Ebiil’s native forest restoration project aligns with the national priorities for Palau’s forest action plan on forest protection and management as well as regional priorities for species protection. With secured funding for the next three years, this project will provide training and application of knowledge for community volunteers as well as Palau’s Protected Areas Network (PAN) sites teams. The focal areas within the National Forest Action Plan to be met in this project include:

• CONSERVE
  • Propagate native and endangered trees for tree planting events
  • Raise awareness on forest value
  • Trainings on ethnobotany and Palau’s forest as a hotspot
  • Provide education on forest value and benefits
  • Conserve soil and water
• PROTECT
  • Stabilize slope and reforest priority landscape areas
  • Slope improvement activities with sediment traps and plants for stabilization
  • Develop and implement fire hazard reduction program by focusing on reforestation
  • Social marketing as we push for forest value and its protection which includes fire prevention education on mass media
• ENHANCE
  • Native trees propagation for public supply to promote native trees
  • All plants used in project will be native
  • Reduce invasive species
  • Preserve traditional knowledge on plants and promote native trees
  • Improve soil conditions with nitrogen fixers plant species
  • Improve soil conditions with traditional mulching and sheeting

Babeldaob Wildfire Prevention

Ebiil’s Babeldaob wildfire prevention activities focus on strengthening community capacity to protect forests and watersheds through education, training, and hands-on stewardship. Working with rangers, teachers, state agencies, and community volunteers, Ebiil delivers ongoing trainings in forest and watershed protection, restoration practices, and effective communication, helping local leaders and community members prevent wildfires, mainly in Babeldaob, and respond to environmental threats before they escalate. Through its Outdoor Classroom and forestry programming, Ebiil also supports teachers and students with practical lessons that connect forest health, wildfire prevention, and climate resilience.

Plant Nursery

Ebiil Society continues to strengthen its plant nursery to support the growing demand for restoration and reforestation across Palau, propagating more than 23,000 native seedlings specifically for ecosystem recovery efforts. Nursery production prioritizes ecologically and culturally important native species used in the Ngardmau hills, including timber, fruit-bearing, medicinal, and nitrogen-fixing trees that enhance soil health, support wildlife habitat, and improve long-term forest resilience. To ensure high survival rates and sustainable impact, Ebiil is actively building staff capacity in nursery management, soil and watershed health, and tree care, positioning the nursery as a critical foundation for effective restoration and climate adaptation initiatives.

Native species grown in the nursery and used in Ngardmau native forest restoration efforts:

1. Btaches (Calopylum Inophylum): Ideal timber plant, medicinal, and resilient to poor soil condition.
2. Rebotel (Gygygium): Fruit, medicine, and used for bird propagation.
3. Kisaks (Pineta): Medicine and nitrogen fixer.
4. Las (Pterocarpus): deal lumber plant and nitrogen fixer.
5. Miich (Terminalia): Fruit, medicine, and used for bird propagation.
6. Ukall (Syrianthes): Best fertilizer, ideal lumber, and nitrogen fixer.

Program Data Dashboard Report