ALM UNDP

Summary:

The Safa’i village in Samoa and its surrounding ecosystems are vulnerable to the adverse impacts of climate change.

Samoa is an archipelago situated in the South Pacific, consisting of two large mountainous islands, Upolu and Savai’i, and seven other small ones. The economy is dependent on remittences, tourism, development aid and agricultural exports. The project site is located at the northern most point of Savai’i. The climate is typical of Samoa with a rainy season from October to March, and a dry season from April to September. The average annual temperature is 26.5˚C. This site is home of threatened ecosystems including coral reefs, mangroves and a coastal marsh. Endangered and endemic species, including over 40 coral species and 60 fish and marine of significant global importance, are present. The population is approximately 400 people who depend on plantations and fishing as their main sources of income and livelihood. The village fronts the sea with the outer reef approximately 200 meters from the beach. It is therefore highly vulnerable to climate hazards such as flooding, coastal erosion and sea level rise. As a result of two cyclones in the early 1990s, the majority of families relocated inland, away from the coast. In spite of this relocation, the road, some homes, the church, drinking water, agriculture and livestock lands are still affected during heavy rainfall and extreme high sea levels. The wetlands and the coral reef systems work together to maintain ecosystem services. However, with the current infrastructural maladaptations, these systems are being further stressed.

The CBA project seeks to reduce the vulnerability of Safa’i village and its ecosystems to the impacts of climate change by building community capacity and by providing needed infrastructure. It emerges from the Samoan Coastal Infrastructure Management (CIM) plan for the district of Gagaemauga III and was prepared through a participatory process involving all sectors of the village. As agreed upon during CIM and CBA consultations, the village considered the following activities essential to allow drainage flood waters and to maintain wetland ecosystem services in the face of climate change:

• The deepening of the bridge passage to allow a better flow of the water between the sea and the wetland (CBA leveraged co-financing from the Government of Samoa who will implement this component)
• The construction of a retention wall along the edge of the wetland to reduce the erosion near homes, the church and agricultural land
• The construction of a walking bridge over the wetland that will enable the village to take out the existing rock bridge that is blocking water, fish and other marine organisms from reaching the reef

From an environmental perspective, having a regular flushing of the water allows the wetland to provide its intended services. Sea water flushes in and out with the the tides, thus enables the wetland ecosystem to rehabilitate itself. It also allows an even distribution of sand along the beach as it was prior to the cyclones. Furthermore, the ability of juvenile fish in accessing the wetlands ensures continued replenishment of the inshore reef fish population. The project also contains a capacity building component that aims at developing the community’s ability to sustainably manage the local ecosystems in order to reduce ongoing climate change risks.