 FSM States Receive Sector Grant Awards from US Department of the InteriorPalikir, Pohnpei (FSM Information Services): May 6, 2009 - The four FSM States will be receiving copies of their grant awards from the US Department of the Interior (DOI) in the areas of Public Sector Capacity Building, Environment, and Private Sector Development Sector Grants and funding for specific projects are listed below. Public Sector Capacity Building Sector Grants (Public Law 108-188) Chuuk State $362,750 Environment Sector Grant Chuuk State $542,656 Private Sector Development Sector Grant Chuuk State $756,179 The only breakdown available of these grants was done on Private Sector Development. Kosrae State has several areas it will focus on. The first is for professional consultancy support services for a start-up export business (bottled water). They will also focus on land surveying and registration of land, and on analyzing current government land leases in order to comply with a change in land local law so that they can end the use of leased land. The government will produce a government land use development and allocation plan as well. Kosrae State will also work on invasive species mitigation and focus on plant research and propagation activities, and the Kosrae Small Business Development Center is getting $55,941 to focus upon providing skill training and counseling to new businesses and to provide information, skill training and counseling to existing businesses. The Kosrae Visitors Bureau is receiving $83,562 to help focus upon promoting Kosrae as a visitor destination with an emphasis on marketing and media placement, to develop new sites and products which will be marketable to visitors, and to conduct cleaning of the Kosrae environment so that it remains attractive to visitors. In Yap, the Visitors Bureau is getting $284,174 to focus upon promotion and marketing of Yap as a visitor destination. It will also focus on community outreach programs to support product development and collect and analyze tourism data and promote integration with neighboring destination. The Yap Small Business Development Center will use a grant of $168,373 to focus on providing counseling, loans and technical advice to new and existing businesses and to provide training to new businesses and potential entrepreneurs The Yap State Department of Resources and Development - Land is getting $ 198,107 to focus on completing surveys and land registration for public land and nonpublic land with commercial potential and $20,636 to focus on maintaining and accounting for 35 parcels of both public leases of private land and private leases of public land. The Yap State Dept. of Resources and Development (Agriculture) will use $39,863 to continue to transition government agriculture functions to the Yap Farmers Organization. The Yap State Dept. of Resources and Development (Workforce Enrichment) has $95,396 to promote and improve manpower resources and capacity in Yap and the Dept. of Resources and Development (Commence & Industry) is getting $36,867 to promote trade and investment in Yap. The Yap State Dept. of Resources and Development (Marine Resources) has a total grant of $34,382 which will be used for surveying and monitoring trochus and sea cucumber populations to determine the best seasons for harvesting, for transplanting trochus seedlings to promote growth in all potential areas and for transplanting sea cucumber to promote growth in all potential areas. In Chuuk State, the Department of Agriculture is getting $77,000 to develop and maintain a system of nursery facilities to provide food plants to people for the purpose of consuming more local foods. The Department of Marine Resources is getting $28,585 for the development of an agriculture industry in Chuuk which will encourage the raising and consumption or sale of sea cucumber. The Chuuk Visitor's Bureau has a grant of $192,893 which will be used to conduct clean-ups of visitor areas, to procure pamphlets and give-away promotional materials, to promote new products and activities which appeal to visitors, to promote and market Chuuk to attract visitors, and to provide training for work in the visitor (tourism) industry. The COM - Land Grant is getting $87,000 for a grant that will cover 3 activities. The first is to provide training in the culinary arts to women and youths to encourage them to form their own businesses or work in existing businesses. The second is to facilitate the planting of fruit trees for reforestation and the production of local foods, and the third is to provide training in the sewing and handicraft production to women and youths to encourage them to form their own businesses or work in existing businesses. Finally, the Chuuk Small Business Development Center has a grant award of $113,280 that will be spent to provide counseling, loans and technical advice to new and existing businesses, to provide training to new businesses, and to develop business plans for new and existing small businesses. |