Conservation International Samoa

Based in Apia, Conservation International Samoa works nationally with government agencies, communities, and researchers across Samoa's ocean domain, coastal communities, and terrestrial and coastal key biodiversity areas. Its programme links land and sea management through a ridge-to-reef and reef-to-ocean approach. Its thematic work includes ocean governance and marine spatial planning, community resilience and environmental education, sustainable forestry and agriculture, and biodiversity data collection and assessment in key biodiversity areas. == History ==

Conservation International has worked in Samoa since 2006. Development of Samoa's broader ocean-strategy framework was underway by 2018, and the marine spatial planning initiative began in 2019 with support from the European Union and technical support from the IUCN. After Cabinet approval in September 2020, the Samoa Ocean Strategy 2020-2030 was officially launched in Apia on 16 October 2020. The launch was accompanied by a memorandum of understanding linking the Government of Samoa, Conservation International, and the Waitt Foundation and Blue Prosperity Coalition in support of implementation. In 2024, the draft Samoa Marine Spatial Plan 2024-2034 was released for public consultation and published by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment. The later Samoa Marine Spatial Plan 2025-2035 was legally adopted in June 2025 with zoning that included fully protected areas as well as zones for cooperative management and general use. == Programmes and operations ==

Ocean strategy and marine spatial planning Conservation International Samoa supports Samoa's ocean governance through the Samoa Ocean Strategy 2020-2030 and the Samoa Marine Spatial Plan, working with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, and other stakeholders on the government-led planning process. The strategy covers Samoa's territorial sea and exclusive economic zone, approximately , and the adopted Samoa Marine Spatial Plan 2025-2035 applies across Samoan waters. The 2024 consultation draft of the marine spatial plan set out four principal zone types: fully protected area, special management, cooperative management, and general use. The later plan was legally adopted in June 2025 and included nine new fully protected marine protected areas covering about , within a broader framework intended to fully protect 30% and sustainably manage 100% of Samoa's ocean area. Coral reefs in districts such as Aleipata have also been discussed in the wider literature as natural buffers against extreme waves on Samoan coasts. Forestry, biodiversity, and key biodiversity areas On land, Conservation International Samoa works with communities and the government on sustainable forestry and agriculture, assessment of climate change impacts on upland forest ecosystems, and the development and management of key biodiversity areas in Samoa. Its terrestrial fieldwork has included biodiversity mapping and rapid biodiversity assessment surveys intended to inform environmental policy and site management. In 2012, upland Savai'i underwent a rapid biodiversity assessment to improve knowledge of a globally important but poorly studied montane and cloud-forest region. The information gathered was intended to support conservation management decisions with Savai'i land-owning communities, government departments, and other partners, and it reinforced the upland forests as a priority for expansion of Samoa's conservation area network. In 2016, further biodiversity fieldwork in the Falealupo Peninsula Coastal Rainforest, Central Savai'i Rainforest, and Uafato-Ti'avea Coastal Rainforest key biodiversity areas, together with a review of the Apia Catchments site, highlighted the need for rainforest protection and restoration, invasive-species management, long-term ecological monitoring, and indicator species for tracking ecosystem change in forest ecosystems, including cloud-forest plants and high-altitude birds. Environmental education and community resilience Conservation International Samoa has supported environmental education and community resilience through the Guardians programme, a va'a-based campaign launched in 2018 with the Samoa Voyaging Society and government and regional partners. The programme used the traditional voyaging canoe Gaualofa as a floating classroom, and its initial phase took the canoe to Aleipata with learning modules on waste management, coral reefs, trees, fisheries, and voyaging. By 2020, the campaign had become part of the education and outreach strand associated with the Samoa Ocean Strategy. Hands-on activities included sailing instruction, coral observation, mangrove biodiversity learning, and practical lessons linked to climate change and community resilience. The 2020 campaign comprised four community-based workshops for Year 7 students, and more than 400 students from 20 primary schools completed the programme. In 2022, the programme worked with the Samoa Voyaging Society on the Manaaki project, supported through New Zealand's Manaaki Fund, using the Gaualofa to deliver activity-based environmental education in at least four districts in Samoa and to begin planning similar programming in Tokelau. In the 2024/25 financial year, the Guardians programme included a training-of-trainers workshop and a first student-outreach phase in Sagaga District that engaged 305 students from 20 schools, in partnership with Conservation International, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, and the Samoa Voyaging Society. == Partnerships ==

Recurring government and institutional partners have included the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment in ocean strategy and marine spatial planning, the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries in ocean governance and fisheries-related work, and the Ministry of Education and Culture in the Guardians environmental education programme. International and technical partners in Samoa's ocean-planning work have included the European Union, the IUCN, the Waitt Foundation, the Waitt Institute, and the Blue Prosperity Coalition. == Funding and conservation finance ==

Funding associated with Conservation International Samoa's work sits within Samoa's broader ocean-financing framework. The Samoa Ocean Strategy 2020-2030 made ocean financial sustainability one of its integrated management solutions and set staged goals for defining implementation costs, preparing a business plan, establishing legal and institutional arrangements for ocean finance, and putting identified financing mechanisms in place by 2030. Samoa's wider ocean-policy framework has operated in a context of limited fiscal space, dependence on remittances and official development assistance, and difficulty attracting private investment, making external technical and financial support important to implementation. The wider financing agenda connected to the ocean strategy has also included discussion of possible future mechanisms rather than only currently implemented funding streams. Options identified for medium- to long-term use have included sustainable tourism levies, blue bonds, Payment for ecosystem services, Blue carbon, and insurance schemes, although these were presented as future possibilities rather than established CI Samoa financing instruments. A separate donor-funded stream has supported education and resilience work: in 2022, the Manaaki Fund backed a partnership involving Conservation International Samoa, Conservation International Aotearoa, and the Samoa Voyaging Society to continue the Guardians programme in Samoa and to begin planning similar delivery in Tokelau. == Impact and evaluation ==

By 2023, Samoa's ocean-governance framework had developed a strong policy basis and broad legitimacy through extensive consultations, but important implementation gaps remained. The Samoa Ocean Strategy 2020-2030 was regarded as a coherent foundation for ocean governance and as well placed to address Samoa's climate and environmental pressures, yet stronger integration with other sector strategies, clearer monitoring and evaluation responsibilities, and more detailed costing were still needed. The monitoring and evaluation role assigned to the National Ocean Steering Committee had not been fully specified, and pandemic-related disruption meant that several foundational objectives and milestones had already slipped behind their original timetable. For land-based conservation themes that overlap with the programme's forestry and biodiversity work, a 2016 mid-term review of the Strengthening Multi-sectoral Management of Critical Landscapes project recorded a mixed picture. By midterm, biodiversity pre-surveys in four key biodiversity areas, rapid biodiversity assessments in three, GIS base mapping, and policy-review work had been completed or were underway. At the same time, progress towards reforestation, degraded-land restoration, and household-income targets remained limited; Outcome 1 was rated moderately unsatisfactory, and most of its intended results were judged highly unlikely to be achieved within the project timeframe. Project implementation and adaptive management overall was rated moderately satisfactory, but the review also identified missing monitoring protocols, underestimated monitoring resources, and weak communication of early warnings to the project board. == References ==