Hard copy

The Koror State Government office, one of the many
places I had to visit to get permits for my research. 

I opened the passenger door of the little silver car and settled into the seat. McQ looked at the single piece of paper in my hand. “Got it?” he asked.

“Yes!” I responded. “All that for a hard copy with a signature.”

It was my fifth day in Palau, and that permit in my hand was the final piece of the puzzle that allowed me to officially begin my research. I had been granted verbal permission to begin sampling in the meantime, but it still felt good to have the official document in hand.

Palau is different from anywhere else that I conduct research. It’s much more tightly regulated – and with good reason. Palau’s coral reefs are incredibly pristine. About 99% of their Exclusive Economic Zone is a Marine Protected Area. Plus, the Rock Island lagoons are home to corals with unusually high heat tolerance that will become increasingly valuable as global temperatures warm. The culture is unique; the environment is healthy; and the people are welcoming. It may be more time-consuming than I would prefer, but the bureaucracy is totally worth it. 

This trip has been a long time coming. It was supposed to happen in May 2020, but obviously covid got in the way. For the last year and a half, I have checked the website for the Palau Ministry of Health periodically to see if it was safe to enter the country. Palau’s government has been extremely diligent the entire pandemic, which has resulted in zero community spread (just a few positive cases that came in on flights and went into quarantine) and a 92% vaccination rate. I watched the regulations. A 14-day quarantine wasn’t viable for this trip, but when the requirement dropped to 5 days of restricted movement and masking, I booked tickets. It took a mountain of paperwork to get us here – 5 different permits, 4 covid tests, and permission from every institution involved – but we made it.

For the next two weeks, I’ll be sampling corals in Palau with my grad student, Kharis. I look forward to showing you this pristine island paradise.