Samoa, a small islands country in the south pacific comprises of four main inhabitated islands and 6 smaller uninhabitated islands. The islands of Samoa lie between latitudes of 13° 15°S to and longitudes of 168° -173° W. The total land area is estimated to be around 2820 km2 whereby Upolu holds 1115 km2 and Savaii with 1700 km2. The capital Apia is located on the northern part of Upolu and is approximately 130 km from Pago Pago, American Samoa, 3000 km from Auckland, New Zealand, 4500 km from Sydney Australia, and 4300 km from Honolulu, Hawaii.
Mangroves are trees that live halfway between land and sea. This is what makes them special; as for most plants salt water is deadly. Mangroves are among the few trees that can grow in seawater and in places where the seawater mixes with the fresh water from the land.
In Samoa, most of the mangroves grow in areas protected by coral reefs. They are found in coastal areas, especially in river estuaries - the wide lower part of a river's lower end
where it meets the sea.
Available online
Call Number: 375.00830095 FAA [EL]
As part of the Second National Communication Project, Samoa is currently preparing its second inventory of Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions. This inventory will be prepared in line with the
2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories, and will estimate emissions from the four sectors of: 1) Energy. 2) Industrial Processes and Product Use (IPPU). 3) Agriculture, Forestry and Other Land Use. and 4) Waste. It is anticipated that the inventory will cover annual GHG emissions for the years 2000 - 2005 inclusive, depending on the availability of data.
Samoa's National Environmental Capacity Strategy (NECS) is drawn on the assessment and analysis of priority thematic and cross-cutting capacity needs. These needs have identified priority actions for capacity development and opportunities to promote synergies across the 3 Conventions which are highlighted as project profiles in the NECS. Strategies to implement these
project profiles including means of monitoring and evaluation of outcomes are also highlighted in the NECS.
Available online
Call Number: 333.72 MIN [EL]
Samoa, like other Least Developed Countries (LDCs) inherits high vulnerability to natural disasters and to external economic and trade developments for which it has no control. These natural disasters include tropical cyclones, prolonged periods of drought, extreme flooding, pests and sudden outbreak of diseases, storm surges and sea level rise.
Available online
Call Number: [EL]
Physical Description: 39 p.
Recent studies have shown that the Cook Islands' social infrastructure has limited preparedness against weather-related vulnerability. The inherent geographical vulnerability of the country to climate change can be ameliorated by initiating
integrated infrastructure and social development, including human resources development.
Available online|1 copy
Call Number: [EL},333.79 STR
Physical Description: 731 p
In a unique move Tokelau requested all regional and international organizations that it is affiliated to either through full membership, associate or by accessing through regional international projects, to visit and consult Tokelau as a "body corporate" or all at once. The intention is to assist a small tiny country in managing all the possible assistance available from these organizations so that the actual assistance itself could be much more effective in their delivery and avoid duplication.
Available online
Call Number: [EL]
The Government Policy Statement delivered to Parliament during the second session of the 9 Parliament on 10m December of 2007, remains the guiding principle for the Kiribati Development Plan. The thrust of Government's policy statement is Kiribati main
assets, - its people - and how their lives can be improved through further development of the economy and their capabilities. This will ultimately lead to creation of employment opportunities and a skilled workforce that can access not only the national but the international labour market as well.
Available online|1 copy
While acknowledging their diversity, the IPCC Third
Assessment Report (TAR) also noted that small island states
share many similarities (e.g., physical size, proneness to natural disasters and climate extremes, extreme openness of their economies, low adaptive capacity) that enhance their vulnerability and reduce their resilience to climate variability and change.
Available online|(* NB these materials are also available on the workshop CDROM deposited with the IRC NBSAP workshop Nadi, Feb 2009)
Call Number: [EL]
This Pacific Pelagic Fishery Ecosystem Plan (FEP) was developed by the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council and represents the first step in an incremental and collaborative approach to implement ecosystem approaches to fishery management for Pacific pelagic species.
Available online
Call Number: [EL]
Physical Description: 234 p.
This Pacific Remote Island Areas Fisheiy Ecosystem Plan (FEP) was developed by the Western Pacific Regional Fisheiy Management Council and represents the first step in an incremental and
collaborative approach to implement ecosystem approaches to fisheiy management in the Pacific Remote Island Areas (PRIA) of Baker Island, Johnston Island, Jarvis Island, Johnston Atoll,
Kingman Reef, Wake Island and Palmyra Atoll.
Available online
Call Number: [EL]
Physical Description: 232 p.
This American Samoa Archipelago Fishery Ecosystem Plan (FEP) was developed by the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council and represents the first step in an incremental and collaborative approach to implement ecosystem approaches to fishery management in American Samoa.
Available online
Call Number: [EL]
Physical Description: 245 p.
The National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 requires Federal agencies to examine the environmental effects of their proposed actions. On behalf of the Department of Defense Representative Guam, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI). Federated States of Micronesia and Republic of Palau (DoD REP) the Navy is preparing this EIS/OEIS to assess the potential environmental effects associated with continuing and proposed military activities within the MIRC Study Area. The Navy is the
According to conventional wisdom, small, fast-growing fish are impossible to overfish because their populations are so large and grow so quickly. Yet we are now seeing disquieting signs that conventional wisdom is wrong. Most significantly, scientists are reporting ocean predators emaciated from lack of food, vulnerable to disease and without enough energy to reproduce. Scrawny predatorsdolphins, striped bass, and even whaleshave turned up along coastlines around the world. Recreational fishermen are losing both their target fishand their bait.
1. Article 6 of the Convention on Biological Diversity/ requires each Party to develop or adapt national strategies, plans or programmes for the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity and to integrate, as far as possible and as appropriate, the conservation and sustainable use of biological
diversity into relevant sectoral or cross-sectoral plans, programmes and policies.
Available online
Call Number: [EL]
Physical Description: 11 Pages
One of the recommendations emerging from the COP-8 (Decision XIII/8 [6]) promoted a series of regional and/or sub-regional workshops on capacity building for NBSAPs. These will
be held with the aim to discuss national experiences in implementing NBSAPs, the integration of biodiversity concerns into relevant sectors, obstacles, and ways and means
for overcoming these obstacles. It was recommended that these workshops be held (subject to the availability of funding) prior to COP-9, to provide an opportunity to directly support
Multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs) are agreements
This section contains a sample of values for coral reefs and surrounding ecosystems estimated at the global, regional and site-specific levels. Some of these summaries note values for ecosystem goods and services including tourism and recreation, fisheries, coastal protection, biodiversity, and carbon sequestration that are presented in Section 2.
Available online
Call Number: [EL]
Physical Description: 23 p.
A Workshop on Regional Action to Combat Invasive Alien Species on Islands to Preserve Biodiversity and Adapt to Climate Change highlighted successes, deepened connections within regions and facilitated the exchange of experiences across regions.While discussions outlined significant obstacles to invasive alien species management2 on islands, they also showcased how targeted successes have led to major gains for conservation and development.Collaboration across developmental and environmental sectors and sustained support are critical to success in this field.Exciting new initiatives are dev
The Asia-Pacific region is an economic
powerhouse, with some of
the worlds most dynamic economies.
But it has been making slower progress
with some of the Millennium Development
Goals. Its greatest success has
been with poverty, for which the region
as a whole is likely to meet the 2015
target of halving the proportion of people
living in income poverty. But most
countries will miss at least some of the
other targets and goals, and a number
will miss their goal even for poverty.
Available online