Country of Origin:
Palau
WLS Award:
2005-2006
About:
Graduate Program: MA Environmental Studies, Goddard College, VT, USA
Background & Goals: Sebastian Marino’s goals included promoting the embrace of sustainable conservation by indigenous communities in Palau. Marino is hereditary chief of Hatohobei State, a small island and a coral reef in the West Pacific Republic of Palau.
Post-Degree Projects: Sebastian Marino graduated from Goddard College in August 2007. His MA thesis, “Exploring Options: Lessons on Leading a Community Visioning Process among Tobians on their Future Hopes for Natural Resource Management at Helen Reef, Hatohobei State, Republic of Palau,” received serious interest from journals and other professionals in the field.
Goddard College interviewed Marino about his work.
Marino was head of the Palau delegation at the Bonn 2010 Climate Change Conference. In this Climate Change TV video he discusses how climate change is a major issue for small islands. He notes how they have moved from mitigation efforts to adaptation, and is looking for a positive outcome at the Conference.
Since 2010, Marino has been a National Environment Planner in the Office of Environmental Response and Coordination (OERC) for the Republic of Palau. In addition to advising the President of Palau on environment and sustainable development issues, the OERC is the operational focal point for the UNCBD, Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety, the Biosafety Clearinghouse, and the conventions on climate change, desertification, ozone depletion, and persistent organic pollutants. The OERC is also mandated to facilitate a coordinated approach to Palau’s response measures to environmental degradation, protection, and if possible, rehabilitation of natural habitats at the national level.
