Noah Idechong
Executive Director of Micronesia and Polynesia
Republic of Palau
Noah Idechong Executive Director, Micronesia and Polynesia Chapter © Noah Idechong
Area of Expertise
Marine Conservation, fisheries
Biography
Noah Idechong is Executive Director of our newly expanded Micronesia and Polynesia Chapter. Noah has had a long and influential career championing conservation in Micronesia and the Pacific. In addition to serving as TNC Micronesia’s interim director, he has been a senior advisor to our large-scale fisheries program since 2015, with a focus on moving the region’s multi-billion-dollar tuna fisheries towards greater sustainability.
Prior to this he was elected to the House of Delegates, Olbiil era Kelulau (Palau National Congress) for 12 years, eight of which he spent as the Chairman of the Standing Committee on Resources and Development, and his final four as Speaker. While in Congress, Noah worked with counterparts in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Guam and the Republic of the Marshall Islands to strengthen participation and sharing of responsibilities in management of oceanic and coastal fisheries, while protecting the habitats on which these ecosystems depend.
Before serving in elected office, Noah was the founding executive director of the Palau Conservation Society and Chief of Palau’s Division of Marine Resources, where he helped draft the country's first marine conservation legislation and helped negotiate tuna treaties between the nations of Micronesia, Japan, the US and other nations that share the Pacific. Noah was an early proponent of the Micronesia Challenge (a commitment by Micronesia’s leaders to effectively conserve at least 30 percent of the near-shore marine resources and 20 percent of the terrestrial resources across Micronesia by the year 2020) and he is passionate about developing TNC’s field-based work to successfully shape national policy and support improved resource management and quality of life for the peoples of the Pacific.
Quote: Noah Idechong
Conservation work in the Pacific is not new. Build on the customs and traditions that are already there. Don’t try to replace it with something new.
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