 |
| Image 1. Source: http://www.missingaircrew.com/images/yap.jpg |
 |
| Image 2. Source: http://www.dankainmicronesia.com/maps.html |
Thursday, December 13, 2012
Yap Island
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
A peak into Yap
Preview
Yap is located in the South Pacific roughly 450 kilometers to the northeast of the island of Palau. The climate is characterized by a yearly warm temperature averaging around 27ºC during the year. (Manta Ray Bay). Precipitation is seasonal with heavy rains being felt around the months of May through November. Typhoons are also seen during this time. Totals for the year average around 100 inches.
Topographically the highest point on the island is Mt. Matade which reaches a height of 574 ft. At lower elevations open savanna grasslands are present on the southern island, while closer to the coastlines mangroves hug the beaches. Coconut groves can also be found farther inland bordering the coastal mangroves. Mixed in to this are patches of tropical forest that are scattered throughout the island at different elevations. (Image 3)
The island itself remains mostly rural even though it is contains a population of roughly 11,000. Colonia is both the capital and only port for the entire island. The rest of the population resides in small communities that dot the four different islands that make up Yap. The peoples relation with the land revolves around the cultivation and care of small plots of land from which they grow such staples as yams and beans. This is the main means of employment for the islands residents. Tourism is the other major employer as a steady stream of tourist fly into the island in order to enjoy the beaches and the giant stone money pieces (Image 4) that are dot the island. Fishing in the reefs and waters around the island also employs a great number of Yap residents.
Yap is located in the South Pacific roughly 450 kilometers to the northeast of the island of Palau. The climate is characterized by a yearly warm temperature averaging around 27ºC during the year. (Manta Ray Bay). Precipitation is seasonal with heavy rains being felt around the months of May through November. Typhoons are also seen during this time. Totals for the year average around 100 inches.
Topographically the highest point on the island is Mt. Matade which reaches a height of 574 ft. At lower elevations open savanna grasslands are present on the southern island, while closer to the coastlines mangroves hug the beaches. Coconut groves can also be found farther inland bordering the coastal mangroves. Mixed in to this are patches of tropical forest that are scattered throughout the island at different elevations. (Image 3)
 |
| Image 3. Source: http://www.pacificworlds.com/yap/land/images/forest1.jpg |
 |
| Image 4. Source: http://www.visit-fsm.org/yap/gallery/64.jpg |
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
Human caused loss of Vegetation
Subsistence Farming
The residents of Yap practice subsistence farming on small plots of land that is worked for an owner. The most cultivated crop on the island is the giant swamp taro. (Michio, 91-93) The giant swamp taro is suited for the climate of Yap and is very easy to plant. Its drawback is that it take four to seven years to mature and harvest. Other crops grown on the island are oranges, papayas, yams, bananas, beans and an assortment of other plants. (Federated States of Micronesia Agricultural Policy). Table 1 list the names of the kinds of crops one would most likely see on Yap. The demand on the island for land has in turn displaced much of the natural vegetation that is native to the island. The northern areas of Maap and Gagil-Tomil on Yap clearly demonstrate small plots of land that have been cleared for harvesting. Imaging clearly shows how this clearing has reduced the amount of forest on the island. Using the Google Earth imaging program it is possible to see exact plots of land that have been cleared of natural vegetation in order to put them to use as farmland. (Image 7). Clearing on the island could continue get even worse if economic incentives drive people to clear more land in order to plant cash crops such as pineapple. While efforts towards preservation of the remaining forests are being hampered by tradition.
Caste system
Historical practices and a caste system has made it difficult to make any changes towards bringing much of the original forest that covered the island. All land on Yap is private property that changes hands from one generation to the other. Sale of land, in order to establish a preserve, is not likely as people on the island do not wish to part with land that owners have inherited and hope to pass on to their offspring. This is the biggest problem towards conservation and preservation of the remaining forest on the island. Simple be it that the remaining tropical forests are in private hands that are unwilling to part ways with it.
The residents of Yap practice subsistence farming on small plots of land that is worked for an owner. The most cultivated crop on the island is the giant swamp taro. (Michio, 91-93) The giant swamp taro is suited for the climate of Yap and is very easy to plant. Its drawback is that it take four to seven years to mature and harvest. Other crops grown on the island are oranges, papayas, yams, bananas, beans and an assortment of other plants. (Federated States of Micronesia Agricultural Policy). Table 1 list the names of the kinds of crops one would most likely see on Yap. The demand on the island for land has in turn displaced much of the natural vegetation that is native to the island. The northern areas of Maap and Gagil-Tomil on Yap clearly demonstrate small plots of land that have been cleared for harvesting. Imaging clearly shows how this clearing has reduced the amount of forest on the island. Using the Google Earth imaging program it is possible to see exact plots of land that have been cleared of natural vegetation in order to put them to use as farmland. (Image 7). Clearing on the island could continue get even worse if economic incentives drive people to clear more land in order to plant cash crops such as pineapple. While efforts towards preservation of the remaining forests are being hampered by tradition.
Caste system
Historical practices and a caste system has made it difficult to make any changes towards bringing much of the original forest that covered the island. All land on Yap is private property that changes hands from one generation to the other. Sale of land, in order to establish a preserve, is not likely as people on the island do not wish to part with land that owners have inherited and hope to pass on to their offspring. This is the biggest problem towards conservation and preservation of the remaining forest on the island. Simple be it that the remaining tropical forests are in private hands that are unwilling to part ways with it.
 |
| Source: Michio. Onjo, Satoru. Taura, and Yoshitaka, Sakamaki. The Present Situation on Agriculture on Yap. Kagoshima University Research Center for the Pacific Islands, Occasional Papers. No. 34, 93. 2003. Online |
 |
| Image 7. Google Earth Imagery |
Bombing
Yap became occupied by Japanese forces during the Second World War as it was a part of a defense network that protected the resource rich Dutch East Indies. The presence of a large airfield used by the Japanese to attack American naval and air assets led to the island becoming a target for the U.S. Army Air Corp. (Missing Air Crew). Repeated attacks on the airfield and the surrounding area left behind a muddy, moon like surface pockmarked by bomb craters. Trees were leveled and the ground was bare as all forms of vegetation had been cleared. (Images 8,9). One could compare these images to the results one sees when a logging clear-cuts through a patch of forest and leaves behind a bare terrain. Today, the area around the airport of Yap has no remaining native tropical forest. It closely resembles more a grassland than any type of forest.
 |
| Image 8. Source: http://www.missingaircrew.com/images/tim/28August1945.JPG |
 |
| Image 9. Source: http://www.missingaircrew.com/images/micr/NA02007.jpg |
Monday, December 10, 2012
Imagery of the Island of Yap
Images were obtained through the The image used for this study came from the University of Maryland’s Global Land Cover Facility using the Landsat 7 satellites Enhanced Thematic Mapper (ETM+). The pixel resolution for all of the satellite images came in 30x30 pixel resolution.The image itself was taken back in February 2001. No images were available through the University of Maryland website that had an image of Yap on a cloudless day. Cloud cover did prove to be a problem later on once the image was processed as clouds obscured the vegetation on the ground. This problem is present in the image that was used and shows up as dark-grey or just grey. Processing of the original Landsat image was done using the ENVI image processing program.
Historical aerial photographs
Analysis of the impact of bombings on the southern part of Yap during the Second World War was done by using photographs by those pilots that undertook the bombing runs on Yap. Technological limitations on camera technology of the time meant that all of the images are in black and white and not in the visible spectrum. The limited number of photographs that are available have allowed given a limited picture of the destruction that bombing caused to the island. What we do have available shows concentrated around the area where one would find the airport today. Yet, none of these images are able to encompass a wide swath of the island making their use limited.
 |
| Image 5. Source: http://www.missingaircrew.com/images/micr/NA02010.jpg |
Landsat ImageThe Landsat image for Yap was obtained by using an Iso Data classification with bands (2,3) in order to clearly mark where the original forest on the island could be located. The few areas of red on the image mark where the last remaining patches of dense tropical forest remain on the island. This is followed by areas of orange that represent lesser dense vegetation cover such as mangroves. All of this ends with yellow areas that mark areas of the shortest and least dense vegetation on the island. It is these areas where one finds the open grasslands of Yap. This image shows that the majority of Yap’s remaining forest is located on the northern two areas of Maap and Gagil-Tomil. Interference as a result of cloud cover are present in the Landsat image used and can be seen best as dark-grey patches in the north center of the island. Fog was also present on the southern part of the island. This might explain why the southern tip of the island is almost completely missing any of its original forest or vegetation cover. More detailed images using the (2,3) bands still show sparse vegetation on the southern part of the island. (Image 6).
 |
| Image 6. ETM+ image |
Wednesday, December 5, 2012
Results and Conclusion
Results
Currently the natural vegetation coverage on Yap has been reduced by more than 3 quarters as a result of human actions. All four subsections of the island clearly show cleared and reduced vegetation coverage on infrared imaging. This loss is most present on the southernmost part of the island where Yap international airport is located. This is the part of the island that has suffered the most clearance as a result of the airport and from bombing during the Second World War. The remaining forest on the Yap is found mostly in both the northern and western part of the islands of Maap and Gagil-Toomil (Image ). These areas of red are highest concentration of remaining forest that Landsat was able to capture. The sparse area of forest that appears as red is much less than the 43 square kilometers that Benowitz and his colleagues measured. At the same time it is much less than the established total forested area on the island of 69.5 square kilometers that Donnegan and his colleagues came up with in 2006. (Donnegan, 2006). Yet, the reason for this difference could be in that the image that was used contained quite a lot of cloud cover. It is easy to see the interference that cloud coverage has in this image as it shows up as dark/grey spots that cross the island from left to right. My suspicion is that under those clouds one would find still more forest that would appear on a clear image that does not have cloud cover.
Currently the natural vegetation coverage on Yap has been reduced by more than 3 quarters as a result of human actions. All four subsections of the island clearly show cleared and reduced vegetation coverage on infrared imaging. This loss is most present on the southernmost part of the island where Yap international airport is located. This is the part of the island that has suffered the most clearance as a result of the airport and from bombing during the Second World War. The remaining forest on the Yap is found mostly in both the northern and western part of the islands of Maap and Gagil-Toomil (Image ). These areas of red are highest concentration of remaining forest that Landsat was able to capture. The sparse area of forest that appears as red is much less than the 43 square kilometers that Benowitz and his colleagues measured. At the same time it is much less than the established total forested area on the island of 69.5 square kilometers that Donnegan and his colleagues came up with in 2006. (Donnegan, 2006). Yet, the reason for this difference could be in that the image that was used contained quite a lot of cloud cover. It is easy to see the interference that cloud coverage has in this image as it shows up as dark/grey spots that cross the island from left to right. My suspicion is that under those clouds one would find still more forest that would appear on a clear image that does not have cloud cover.
.jpg) |
| Image 10. |
The vegetation coverage on Yap has always faced forces threatening its survival. Typhoons have traditionally been the island greatest threat to the well being of vegetation on the island. Fire to a lesser extent has also been a threat to the islands vegetation as well. For these reasons the vegetation on the island has been forced to adapt in order to be able to recover from such events that pass over the island. The arrival of humans to the island placed a bigger threat than anything that natural phenomenon. The most dramatic events are the bombing runs that occurred in World War 2. Yet, the greatest and biggest distribution of land clearance can be attributed to the clearance of land as a result of farming by the islands inhabitants. These two events are the reason that so much of the island has lost its original vegetation cover of forest. Combating this loss may prove difficult as a long entrenched caste system dictates who owns all of the land on the entire island.
Conservation efforts might prove difficult as a result of the complex land ownership system that exist on the island based on ones caste. (World Wildlife Fund). Sale of land on the island is almost unheard of as a lands change hands from generation to generation. While the caste system on the island ensure that the higher caste keep control of all of the land on the island. This systems keeps the lower caste in their place and does not allow for social mobility. (Everyculture). It is for this reason that it is in the interest of the owners of the land to pass it along to their children. Thus ensuring that the family continues to belongs to the upper caste.
Forest Reserve areas
If it is possible to overcome the cultural barriers that exist over who controls the land on Yap, then it is possible to save the remaining forest on that remain on the island. All efforts should be focused on preserving the pockets of forest that are found on the northern islands of Maap and Gagill-Toomil. It is here in these sites where the creation of a reserve or a national park is best suited in order to preserve what forest is left. The density of the forest and height of the tree canopy in Image demonstrate what Yap once looked like before it lost so much of its forest due to the human interference.(Image 11). If preservation is implemented then it is possible to prevent the complete loss of Yap native tropical forest. Previous work on Palua by Endress & Chinea demonstrates that it is possible for tropical forests in Micronesia to prosper quite well in lands that have experienced human disturbance. (Endress & Chinea, 2001). Yet, without any sort of intervention it is very possible that all the tropical forest that remains may be cleared in order for the land to be put to human uses.
Comments and future research
Limitations in available imagery on Yap meant that all the images used had cloud coverage that did interfere with the analyses of the island. It seems that no available imagery is currently available free of charge that does not contain any cloud cover over the island. This interference by clouds meant that it was not possible to make thorough analyses of the entire island. For this reason it is my belief that future work looking into the vegetation of Yap should first most importantly obtain clear images of the island before undertaking any study. While preservation and conservation should be undertaken first with ethnographic work that can address the established caste system that exists. This should be done in order to offend social norms about power and class that dictate the lives of Yap's citizens. It is very easy to disregard norms and peoples way of life all in the name of preservation and conservation.
Conservation efforts might prove difficult as a result of the complex land ownership system that exist on the island based on ones caste. (World Wildlife Fund). Sale of land on the island is almost unheard of as a lands change hands from generation to generation. While the caste system on the island ensure that the higher caste keep control of all of the land on the island. This systems keeps the lower caste in their place and does not allow for social mobility. (Everyculture). It is for this reason that it is in the interest of the owners of the land to pass it along to their children. Thus ensuring that the family continues to belongs to the upper caste.
Forest Reserve areas
If it is possible to overcome the cultural barriers that exist over who controls the land on Yap, then it is possible to save the remaining forest on that remain on the island. All efforts should be focused on preserving the pockets of forest that are found on the northern islands of Maap and Gagill-Toomil. It is here in these sites where the creation of a reserve or a national park is best suited in order to preserve what forest is left. The density of the forest and height of the tree canopy in Image demonstrate what Yap once looked like before it lost so much of its forest due to the human interference.(Image 11). If preservation is implemented then it is possible to prevent the complete loss of Yap native tropical forest. Previous work on Palua by Endress & Chinea demonstrates that it is possible for tropical forests in Micronesia to prosper quite well in lands that have experienced human disturbance. (Endress & Chinea, 2001). Yet, without any sort of intervention it is very possible that all the tropical forest that remains may be cleared in order for the land to be put to human uses.
 |
| Image 11. Source: http://static.panoramio.com/photos/original/26990172.jpg |
Limitations in available imagery on Yap meant that all the images used had cloud coverage that did interfere with the analyses of the island. It seems that no available imagery is currently available free of charge that does not contain any cloud cover over the island. This interference by clouds meant that it was not possible to make thorough analyses of the entire island. For this reason it is my belief that future work looking into the vegetation of Yap should first most importantly obtain clear images of the island before undertaking any study. While preservation and conservation should be undertaken first with ethnographic work that can address the established caste system that exists. This should be done in order to offend social norms about power and class that dictate the lives of Yap's citizens. It is very easy to disregard norms and peoples way of life all in the name of preservation and conservation.
Saturday, December 1, 2012
References
Work Cited
1.Aregheore, Eroarome Martin. Country Pasture/Forage Resources Profiles: Federated States of Micronesia. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2009): 1-12. Print.
2.Donnegam, Joseph A. Federated States of Micronesia forest resources, 2006. United States Department of Agriculture (2006): 1-56. Electronic
3.Kauffman, J. Bonne & Cole, Thomas G. Micronesian Mangrove Forest Structure and Tree Responses to a severe Typhoon. Wetlands 30 (2010): 1077-1084. Print.
4. Michio, Onjo, Satoru, Taura, and Yoshitaka, Sakamaki. The present situation of Agriculture in Yap. Kagoshima University Research Center for the Pacific Islands, Occasional Papers(2001). No.34: 91-93. Print.
5. Gillespie, Thomas W. Lipskin, Boris. Sullican, Lauren. Benowitz, David R. Pau, Stephanie. Keppel, Gunar. The Rarest and Least Protected Forests in biodiversity hotspots. Biodiversity Conservation (2012). No. 21: 3597-3611. Online.
6. Donnegan, Joseph A. Butler, Sarah L. Kuegler, Olaf. and Bruce Hiserote. Federated States of Micronesia Forest Resources, 2006. USDA. Oct. 2011. Online.
7. Federated States of Micronesia Agricultural Policy, 2012-2016. Federated States of Micronesia. Department of Resources and Development. 1-64. Online.
8. Chinea, J. Danilo. Endress, Bryan A. Landscape Patterns of Tropical Forest Recovery in the Republic of Palau (2001). No. 30(4): 555-565. Online.
Web Sites Used
http://www.fsmgov.org/info/geog.html
http://www.visityap.com/
http://www.everyculture.com/Oceania/Yap-Sociopolitical-Organization.html
http://www.mantaray.com/weather.php
https://maps.google.com/maps?h
http://glcf.umiacs.umd.edu/data/landsat/
http://worldwildlife.org/ecoregions/oc0204
http://www.missingaircrew.com
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)