Walung

Walung is a municipality in the state of Kosrae, Micronesia. Though it is frequently referred to as a part of Tafunsak, Walung is a separate municipality.

Geography

Walung is located at the Southwest point of the island, just Northwest of Utwa. Most of its Western edge is coastline. Walung does not reach far towards the centre of Kosrae. The capital of Walung is Walung Village.

Utwa-Walung Marine Park

Walung and Utwa are home to the Utwa-Walung Marine Park, a conservation area established by Madison Nena, a local ecologist who has won several awards, including the Seacology Prize in 1999. 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 [ [http://www.seacology.org/prize/madison.html 1999 Seacology Prize news release] ] .

The park features excellent examples of healthy hard coral, as well as some of Micronesia's most pristine forests and extensive mangrove ecosystems [ [http://kosraenautilus.com/attractions.html Kosrae Nautilus Resort] ] . The park's main office is close to the shipwreck site of the infamous pirate trader Bully Hayes, and it is rumoured that Hayes buried some treasure somewhere in the forest [ [http://www.pacificmagazine.net/issue/2005/12/01/pacific-travel Pacific Magazine December 2005] ] .

ee also

# Lelu
# Malem
# Tafunsak
# Kosrae
# Utwe

References

Maps

* [http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/australia/kosrae_soil_1981.jpg| General Soil Map of Kosrae produced by the US Department of Agriculture]