Our climate change

@ Samoa Conservation Society

On June 29, Forest Restoration Awareness Day, the Samoa Conservation Society commemorated its tenth anniversary!

For this occasion, the group went to the Togitogiga Nursery, which is used for seedling collection and propagation. Collectively, about 500 Samoan native plants were planted and a trip around the park's coastal path, stopping along the way to view and learn about the many native plants and wildlife.

What were the goals for the day?
- Increase public understanding of the #OLPPNP, forest restoration, and risks to it, particularly invasive species and climate change.

- Inform students in the neighborhood schools on the significance of Samoa's ecology, biodiversity, and geology in the #OLPPNP.

- Encourage awareness of the effects of climate change and ways to lessen risk and vulnerability to it.

- Identify the main sources of emissions in supply chains so that the appropriate parties are aware and may take appropriate action to minimize emissions.

@ KiwaInitiative

On May 24, 2023, staff from the Outrigger Fiji Beach Resort contributed to the protection of the dunes at the National Park. 

It gave the national park ranger team an opportunity to celebrate (belatedly) International Day of Biodiversity and introduce the project to a new public. 

The Outrigger team and a few of their guests joined the ranger team to contribute to the protection of the sand dunes, by fortifying the park’s new firebreak through the planting of a fire-resistant tree species. This is part of biodiversity conservation and critical to the protection of the park. Together, the team Outrigger and the ranger team planted 75 teak saplings along the park’s Cece Gully. These saplings will complement the role of the firebreak once they reach a good height and help stop the spread of fires into the park. Fire to date is still one of the biggest threats to the National Park.

The Cece Gully is also the site for the agroforestry component of the park’s project, where planting of fruit trees has already begun. This site is part of the resilience building, in terms of food security for the nearby community. Having a good firebreak around the perimeter of this gully is so critical. We are hoping that in two years’ time, this gully will be populated with many fruit trees beneficial to the park’s wildlife and the community.

@ KiwaInitiative

About 40 community members from the villages of Poutasi, Saleilua & Saaga on the south coast of Upolu attended a workshop on October 20 to celebrate together with the Forestry Division of MNRE, the continuation of Restoration work for the O Le Pupu Pue National Park. The restoration project for the park started in 2016 and was funded in 2018 under a UNDP SGP grant, and later under a US Forest Service Pacific Islands Forest Restoration Initiative (PIFRI) grant from 2020 -2021.

Since 2016 we have planted more than 25,000 trees in the park and restored around 10ha (25 acres) of degraded forest. The Samoa Conservation Society recently secured further funding for the next 18 months thanks to the Kiwa Initiative.

The workshop focused on the introduction of the Kiwa Initiative and how communities will benefit from the project. The Kiwa Initiative is a financial support for the O le Pupu Pu’e NP, the first National Park in Samoa and the South Pacific region. About 60% of the project’s budget will be focused on restoration work and the rest will be on the conservation of Samoan threatened species such as the Manumea, Samoa’s National Bird and the Niu vao, or endemic bush palm. The work is guided by the OLPP NP Management Plan (MNRE – 2016), the Mapping of fue lautetele (Merremia peltata) in the park and recommendations for management (Asia Air Survey 2014) and the Operational Plan for Park Restoration (MNRE 2010). Around 6% of the park, or about 240 Ha, is in need of restoration due to cyclone damage and the spread of invasive weeds, such as Fue lautetele.