In 1974 the USA
extended its National Historic Preservation Act of 1966
to the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands (TTPI) and a
Territory wide historic preservation program was operational
from 1977.
http://www.fsmlaw.org/chuuk/code/title25/T25_Ch08.htm
Upon FSM independence in 1986, provisions were included in the
Compact of Free Association, in which the USA/FSM agreed to
apply the US National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 in the
FSM and for the US (through the Department of Interior) to
provide grants to implement an historic preservation program
throughout the country.
The National
Historic Preservation Act provides for the survey, inventory and
assessment of historic sites and the development of a National
Register of Historic Places. Among other provisions, through the
section 106 process, any federal (or federally funded)
activities need to take into account and minimise any impacts on
registered places. A FSM National Historic Preservation Office
in Pohnpei (which assists the four states) and four State
Historic Preservation Offices have been established and are
funded through a US Historic Preservation Fund and matching
grants from the FSM national and the four state governments.
As at June 2005, 26 places within the FSM have been recorded on
the National Register of Historic Places. US National Historic
Landmarks (NHL) is another register of designated places that
'possess exceptional value or quality in illustrating or
interpreting the heritage of the United States' and out of the
total of 2,300 NHLs, two FSM places (Chuuk Lagoon Japanese Fleet
and Nan Madol in Pohnpei) are included on this Register.
EXISTING STATE LEGISLATION :
Chuuk
has state legislation protecting the submerged World
War II Japanese military and non-military remains in
the lagoon but currently no state legislation
protecting sites on the islands.
The legislation
pertaining to the underwater sites was proclaimed on the 14
August 1971 to protect the sunken Japanese ships and aircraft,
which at this time were gradually becoming recognised as war
graves. It was designed to control the removal of the material
remains, which had been started in 1969 by a group under the
leadership of Jacques Cousteau, as well as to control the
increasing number of divers visiting the site. It is probably
one of the first laws anywhere that was aimed at trying to
regulate diver tourism, something which many 'developed'
countries have still not done. Known as the Truk (Chuuk) Lagoon
District Monument, these sites were protected under Truk State
Law No. 21-5, which has been amended five times, the last
amendment being on 17 February 2000.
This legislation protects all Japanese military and non-military
remains lying in Chuuk Lagoon below the high-water mark that
were deposited there before 31 December 1945. It does not
protect indigenous sites or the military remains of other
nations, such as the US aircraft lying in the lagoon.
Although anecdotal evidence has suggested that some submerged
fish weirs can still be found in Chuuk Lagoon, no work has been
implemented on them.
The methods in which the Japanese military and non-military
remains are protected in the legislation are:
-
by making it
illegal to dive without a permit and a certified dive guide,
both of which can be obtained from the managers of the
licensed dive shops, and/or the governor;
-
by making it
illegal to "remove, appropriate, damage or destroy, without
the written permission of the Governor" any of this
material.
Upon conviction,
the penalty for a breach of the provisions in the legislation
could be a fine of up to $1,000 and/or imprisonment for a period
of not more than six months. The legislation authorizes the
managers of the licensed dive shops to collect a $30 fee for the
permits and for this to be delivered to the state treasurer to
be deposited in the general fund, with a provision that it be
used "exclusively for the administration, protection, and
development of Chuuk Lagoon State Monument". The legislation
also authorizes an appropriation of annual funding for carrying
out the provisions of the Act.
There is also FSM National legislation titled FSM Code of 1997
Title 26: Historical Sites and Antiquities. The legislation
protects Historic Properties and Historical Artefacts (anything
produced by humans 30 years ago) and it provides the Governors
of each State of the FSM with the power to stop the transport of
historical artefacts to any of the other States of FSM and
internationally.
The US National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 also provides
a level of protection and some of its provisions are described
in the section Chuuk HPO.
