What is the Environment Worth?

hat is it worth to be able to turn on the kitchen faucet and drink clean, safe water? In the Pacific Islands it's a serious question that almost every government has to wrestle with.

In the region, lack of access to clean water, plus other basic environmental problems, impact people's daily lives. Islanders' health, income, and overall quality of life are tied to the environment.

Yet in American Samoa, almost 40 percent of residents do not have adequate indoor plumbing. Leptospirosis and other waterborne diseases from piggeries in American Samoa contaminate streams and the water near popular beaches.

An unofficial dump on Majuro, Marshall Islands. PHOTO: JOHN McCARROLL

Saipan is the only U.S. municipality without 24-hour water delivery. For almost half of Saipan's residents, water flows through their pipes only one or two hours per day. The water they do get isn't potable because it's so salty.

Over the past several years the situation may have been the most dire on Guam, which has suffered not only frequent water outages, but also chronic contamination from raw sewage in the drinking water supply. Until recently, Guam probably had the worst water problems in the U.S., with over 500 million gallons of raw sewage spills between 1999 and 2002. Even in the new millenium, the threat of waterborne diseases such as cholera has not gone away in the Pacific.

The problems aren't just limited to water. Waste-both regular trash and the more hazardous kind-is magnified on Pacific Islands. Everything from paper to cars comes in to Islands, and then never leaves. Garbage dumps routinely catch on fire. And the Pacific's role as the site of many infamous World War II battles has had special consequences. One-third of Saipan is undevelopable because it's littered with thousands of rounds of unexploded ordnance.

Environmental problems and poor infrastructure limit the economies of the Pacific Islands. In the Northern Marianas, for example, there are at least 20 private water companies because of the lack of potable water. On Saipan almost every business, including KFC and Ace Hardware, has had to put in its own water system. This is not a recipe for economic success.

Pacific Islands tourism is largely dependent on the health of the environment. A chance to experience beauty and encounter abundant marine life is what draws tourists. Walking over broken glass and rusted car parts to go snorkeling among coral littered with old clothes and junked appliances does not inspire return visits.

Long-term commercial harvesting of natural resources is dependent on sustainable take rates. For example, some regional economies rely heavily upon tuna fishing. If the tuna are fished at a rate that depleted the stock, which has happened to fisheries in other parts of the globe, it would have disastrous results for the local economy.

US EPA Engineer Ramon Mendoza inspects unexploded ordnance on Saipan. PHOTO: JOHN McCARROLL

Finally, traditional subsistence is of course limited by the health of the environment and abundance of natural resources. As Palau President Tommy Remegasau, Jr. said at the October 2003 U.S. Coral Reef Task Force meeting in Saipan, "The essence of protecting our environment is the survival of the region."

It is a Catch 22 situation: while environmental problems can limit Pacific Island economies, it's been hard to find the money to invest in regional environmental protection. For example, the U.S. Congress some years ago set up a system to better fund drinking water and wastewater construction in the United States. While the so-called "State Revolving Fund" has been successful in the states, its success has been more limited in the territories. Why? First, while money was given to states in the form of a revolving loan, in the territories it was given as grants for specific projects, thus limiting the ability to leverage the loan. Second, the amount of funding given to territories was disproportionately lower than that given to states.

Yet, there are reasons to be optimistic. Some governments are taking steps to address water issues, such as Guam's newly elected utilities commission taking bold steps to improve water quality and delivery, and the Northern Marianas Governor's Drinking Water Task Force, whose goal is "24/24" (24-hour water within 24 months). Most Pacific Island governments also seem interested in better addressing solid waste, as witnessed by the Association of Pacific Island Legislatures' recent resolution to establish a regional recycling system, and protect their coral reefs. A realization is growing that protecting the environment is an investment that is in the Islands' interests, with tangible economic benefits.

The U.S. government is also trying to look strategically at how it can better help the environment. For its part, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) over the last few years has stepped up both its compliance and partnership efforts to get the public and private sectors alike to better protect the environment. Beyond that, the U.S. federal government's Interagency Group on Insular Affairs, resurrected in 2003, is tackling some tough environmental issues that transcend individual agencies.

Mostly we all need to step back and look at what's working and what's not, and for what's not working, look for other solutions. Maybe together we can figure out more innovative ways to finance island infrastructure, and help Pacific Islands governments better address resource limitations.

So, what's it worth to protect our island environment? As President Remengasau and other political leaders in the Pacific realize, the future of the islands depends upon it.

The writer is manager of the U.S. Envrionmental Protection Agency's Pacific Islands Office. He is based in San Francisco, California.