Utwe
Encyclopedia
Municipality
A municipality is essentially an urban administrative division having corporate status and usually powers of self-government. It can also be used to mean the governing body of a municipality. A municipality is a general-purpose administrative subdivision, as opposed to a special-purpose district...
in the Micronesian
Federated States of Micronesia
The Federated States of Micronesia or FSM is an independent, sovereign island nation, made up of four states from west to east: Yap, Chuuk, Pohnpei and Kosrae. It comprises approximately 607 islands with c...
state of Kosrae
Kosrae
Kosrae , formerly known as Kusaie, is an island in Micronesia. The State of Kosrae is one of four states of the Federated States of Micronesia, and includes, besides the island of Kosrae, about a dozen satellite islands and islets, the most significant of which is Lelu Island.-Geography:With a...
, the largest being Tafunsak
Tafunsak
Tafunsak is the largest settlement on the island of Kosrae in the Federated States of Micronesia. Its population was 2,457 at the 2000 census. This includes Walung, which had been incorporated into the municipality of Tafunsak since the 1980s. The area of the municipality is 42.8 km², making...
.
Geography
Utwe occupies the very South of the islandIsland
An island or isle is any piece of sub-continental land that is surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, cays or keys. An island in a river or lake may be called an eyot , or holm...
, but has no coast
Coast
A coastline or seashore is the area where land meets the sea or ocean. A precise line that can be called a coastline cannot be determined due to the dynamic nature of tides. The term "coastal zone" can be used instead, which is a spatial zone where interaction of the sea and land processes occurs...
on its East border. As of 1994, the total population of Utwe was 1,056. Utwe's capital is Utwa Ma
Utwa Ma
Utwa Ma is the capital of Utwa, a municipality in the Micronesian state of Kosrae.'Utwa Ma' is Kosraean for Utwa Village. The village itself is the largest village in Utwa, and lies close to the mouth of the Finkol River....
(Utwe Village).
Utwe-Walung Marine Park
Utwe is home to the Utwe-Walung Marine Park, a conservation area established by Madison Nena, a local ecologist who has won several awards, including the 1999 SeacologySeacology
Seacology is a nonprofit 501 charitable organization headquartered in Berkeley, California that focuses on preserving island ecosystems and cultures around the globe. Founded in 1991, it began with the work of ethnobotanist Paul Alan Cox, who researched tropical plants and their medicinal value in...
Prize, awarded annually to an indigenous islander for outstanding achievement in preserving the environment and culture of any of the world's more than 100,000 islands. In the late 1990s, Madison Nena successfully led a campaign to prevent property developers from building a tourist complex without adequate sewage facilities, and in its place he founded an eco-tourism initiative at Kosrae Village Resort. He has also worked with island elders to revitalize historic methods of Kosraen house construction.
The park features excellent examples of healthy hard coral, as well as some of Micronesia's most pristine forests and extensive mangrove ecosystems. The park's main office is close to the shipwreck site of the infamous pirate trader Bully Hayes
Bully Hayes
William Henry "Bully" Hayes has been described as a South Sea pirate and "the last of the Buccaneers", who together with Ben Pease, engaged in blackbirding in the 1860s and 1870s. Hayes operated across the breadth of the Pacific in the 1850s until his murder on 31 March 1877 by his cook Peter...
, and it is rumoured that Hayes buried some treasure somewhere in the forest.
See also
- Lelu
- MalemMalem, KosraeMalem, which literally translates to "Moon", is one of the five municipalities that comprise the state of Kosrae in the Federated States of Micronesia....
- TafunsakTafunsakTafunsak is the largest settlement on the island of Kosrae in the Federated States of Micronesia. Its population was 2,457 at the 2000 census. This includes Walung, which had been incorporated into the municipality of Tafunsak since the 1980s. The area of the municipality is 42.8 km², making...
- WalungWalungWalung was the smallest of the original five municipalities of the state of Kosrae, Micronesia. Since the 1980s, it has been part of the municipality of Tafunsak.-Geography:...
- KosraeKosraeKosrae , formerly known as Kusaie, is an island in Micronesia. The State of Kosrae is one of four states of the Federated States of Micronesia, and includes, besides the island of Kosrae, about a dozen satellite islands and islets, the most significant of which is Lelu Island.-Geography:With a...
