? The 3 target villages (population in 2011 of 1470) are now well versed in the range of environmental threats within their areas and were provided with skills to tackle these threats.
? The environmental champions were sensitized to a range of ?green livelihood options? such as nature-based tour guiding, developing marine reserves and mangrove conservation areas, managing waste, restoring forests, etc.
? The champions have been inspired to become greener citizens within their villages and to honor personal pledges made to protect the environment.
? Capacity building in forest restoration, waste management, roles of fish/marine and terrestrial reserves, environmental legislation, climate change and impacts on health and infrastructure was increased.
? Practical and hands on training in being a bird guide in the national park and tour guiding was provided.
? Practical training in nursery work, transplanting, potting, forest restoration and invasive weed management was also provided.
An innovative project we are implementing in partnership with the Samoan Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, and three village communities on Upolu island (Saaga, Saleilua and Poutasi) is the "Samoa Climate Smart Rainforest Restoration Project" The project is funded by the UNDP GEF Small Grants Programme and is located in the O le Pupu Pue (OLPP) National Park, the first National Park established in the South Pacific. The project demonstrates that simple nature based solutions to environmental threats such as climate change and invasive species, are effective and sustainable. Nature based solutions, such as planting trees and establishing and managing forest and marine reserves, also empower people, particularly the youth to conserve the environment. Youth in Samoa typically don?t have a major role in decision making. However, youth are the future of Samoa and are the group that will be most impacted by our current and future behaviour.
Experience has shown that raising environmental awareness is best achieved through action; as it is through action that people feel empowered to learn more and do more to protect the environment. In fact it is through simple actions that everyone can do that the battle to reduce the impacts of climate change, and manage other environmental threats, can be won. One simple action is planting trees as trees are 50% carbon and are one of nature?s best carbon sinks. By absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, trees not only reduce one of the main greenhouse gases from the air, but also help bring back our native biodiversity such as birds, bats, reptiles and butterflies all of which evolved on islands covered in rainforest and need native plants for food and shelter. With year round warmth and abundant rain Samoa is blessed with a climate perfect for growing trees and tree growth rates of more than 2m per year have been recorded. Given that the world loses 10 billion trees every year, every tree we plant is a small victory.
An important part of our project is raising awareness of the impacts of our behaviour on the planet- in particular how our use of fossil fuels is contributing to climate change. Every time we travel by car or plane, or even turn on the lights at home, we are contributing to the greenhouse gas emissions that cause climate change. We promote offsetting such emissions through tree planting and other practical actions.
Inovative Financial Mechanisms
An innovative project we are implementing in partnership with the Samoan Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, and three village communities on Upolu island (Saaga, Saleilua and Poutasi) is the "Samoa Climate Smart Rainforest Restoration Project". The project is funded by the UNDP GEF Small Grants Programme and is located in the O le Pupu Pue (OLPP) National Park, the first National Park established in the South Pacific. The project demonstrates that simple nature based solutions to environmental threats such as climate change and invasive species, are effective and sustainable. Nature based solutions, such as planting trees and establishing and managing forest and marine reserves, also empower people, particularly the youth to conserve the environment. Youth in Samoa typically don?t have a major role in decision making. However, youth are the future of Samoa and are the group that will be most impacted by our current and future behaviour.
Experience has shown that raising environmental awareness is best achieved through action; as it is through action that people feel empowered to learn more and do more to protect the environment. In fact it is through simple actions that everyone can do that the battle to reduce the impacts of climate change, and manage other environmental threats, can be won. One simple action is planting trees as trees are 50% carbon and are one of nature?s best carbon sinks. By absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, trees not only reduce one of the main greenhouse gases from the air, but also help bring back our native biodiversity such as birds, bats, reptiles and butterflies all of which evolved on islands covered in rainforest and need native plants for food and shelter. With year round warmth and abundant rain Samoa is blessed with a climate perfect for growing trees and tree growth rates of more than 2m per year have been recorded. Given that the world loses 10 billion trees every year, every tree we plant is a small victory.
An important part of our project is raising awareness of the impacts of our behaviour on the planet- in particular how our use of fossil fuels is contributing to climate change. Every time we travel by car or plane, or even turn on the lights at home, we are contributing to the greenhouse gas emissions that cause climate change. We promote offsetting such emissions through tree planting and other practical actions.
Gender Focus
Men will fully participate in all elements of the project including the training courses and learning about a complete range of environmental threats and how to manage them.
Men champions will likely conduct much of the physical work of the restoration effort- eg clearing weeds and planting in the national park.
Women will fully participate in all elements of the project including the training courses and learning about a complete range of environmental threats and how to manage them.
Women champions will play a particular role in the nursery work to collect and nurture seedlings and in the design of village projects related to issues identified by each village such as water supply management, catchment management, waste management and other areas that women have traditionally played a leadership role in.
Promoting Public Awareness of Global Environment
Our project helps Samoan youth to "walk the talk" on climate change action and to become true environmental champions. Our dream is for all Samoans to become aware of their environmental and carbon footprints and to want to reduce or offset it. If this happens we believe that the worst impacts of climate change and other environmental threats will be avoided and Samoa will be on a truly sustainable development path.
For a short documentary of our project please see:
https://youtu.be/CKHoyvuCxPU
Planning non gef grant
SCS is currently applying for a grant to scale up the project to 6 districts in Samoa and to address two related objectives: to promote and demonstrate green livelihood options among youth in Samoa and to raise awareness of the range of threats facing Samoa?s environment and how to manage them.
a) Promoting Green Skills
We aim to train 210 youths from 6 districts on Upolu and Savaii in a broad range of green livelihood/skills options ? including nature-based or eco-tourism, training in production of green products (eg making bamboo straws, re-usable shopping bags etc), organic farming and sustainable harvesting of natural resources.
b) Raising environmental awareness of youth, especially women, of environmental threats and providing skills to tackle them. We have developed a training course that covers a range of environmental threats such as climate change, invasive species, waste management and forest degradation as well as practical solutions to overcome these threats.
Project sustainability
SCS is currently applying for a grant to scale up the project to 6 districts in Samoa and to address two related objectives: to promote and demonstrate green livelihood options among youth in Samoa and to raise awareness of the range of threats facing Samoa?s environment and how to manage them.
a) Promoting Green Skills
We aim to train 210 youths from 6 districts on Upolu and Savaii in a broad range of green livelihood/skills options ? including nature-based or eco-tourism, training in production of green products (eg making bamboo straws, re-usable shopping bags etc), organic farming and sustainable harvesting of natural resources.
b) Raising environmental awareness of youth, especially women, of environmental threats and providing skills to tackle them. We have developed a training course that covers a range of environmental threats such as climate change, invasive species, waste management and forest degradation as well as practical solutions to overcome these threats.
Emphasis on Sustainable Livelihoods
The Samoa National Action Plan on Youth Employment strongly identifies the need for young people to be engaged in income generating opportunities in the environment sector or in fields classified as green jobs. By providing ?Green Jobs? and building the skills of young men and women in climate smart reforestation, our youth trainees will be offered new skillsets that can be used to pursue job opportunities in the environment sector.
Policy Impact
The primary goal of this project was to address climate change both in terms of mitigating the impacts of climate change by planting trees and also in raising awareness of the role every person can play in combating climate change. As noted our project supports an existing innovative partnership to restore rainforest and fight climate change using ?carbon offsets?. Many partners have joined our project including United Nations volunteers based in Samoa and around 200 seasonal workers who travel to NZ every year, and are all offsetting the emissions from their international flights at our two project sites. We have been approached by Air NZ and we are looking into international c-offset accreditation in order to secure funds from business partners, or their clients, who wish to offset their carbon footprint.
A crowdfunding page has been set up to support our native rainforest restoration efforts by two UN Volunteers:
https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/c-offset?utm_term=mBzNdbWE8
Capacity - Building Component
The workshop to teach youth the importance of forest conservation and how deforestation could lead to negative consequences. ? 40 environmental champions from three villages (Poutasi, Saleilua, Saaga) were trained in forest restoration methods, nursery work, transplanting, soil processing and clearing of invasive vine species.
? 60 people were also trained to understand a wide range of environmental threats, such as waste, invasive species as well as climate change, and how to manage them.
? 3.8 Ha (9.4 acres) of degraded rainforest in the first national park in the South Pacific- O le Pupu Pue National Park- was restored
? 10,200 + seedlings of native Samoan tree species were planted in the OLPP park
? Hundreds of further native trees were planted during various public open days at our other project site- the Mt Vaea Reserve
Notable Community Participation
The youth are our core project target group. They will be involved in all project activities and will learn a whole range of environmental management issues and how to manage the environment holistically. We will select 10 ?environmental champions? from each of the 3 target villages to be trained and to disseminate project findings to the whole village.
Replication of project activities
This project is very replicable in Samoa and elsewhere in the Pacific. The concept of training youth in environmental skills such as forest restoration, invasive weed management and waste management and to make pledges to become greener citizens is a low cost approach to empower youth to become environmental champions in their communities. As noted above we are developing a national project to outscale and to replicate this approach to 6 districts in Samoa in 2019 building on the lessons learned from the Samoa Carbon Smart Rainforest Restoration Project.
Our concept of planting trees for c-offsets has already been apopted by partner groups such as the Poutasi Development Trust whose seasonal workers all plant trees when they return from their work in New Zealand and Australia as well as by United Nations volunteers who are offsetting their travels to/from Samoa.
Project Results
Climate impacts
The primary goal of this project was to address climate change both in terms of mitigating the impacts of climate change by planting trees and also in raising awareness of the role every person can play in combating climate change. As noted our project supports an existing innovative partnership to restore rainforest and fight climate change using ?carbon offsets?. Many partners have joined our project including United Nations volunteers based in Samoa and around 200 seasonal workers who travel to NZ every year, and are all offsetting the emissions from their international flights at our two project sites. We have been approached by Air NZ and we are looking into international c-offset accreditation in order to secure funds from business partners, or their clients, who wish to offset their carbon footprint. A crowdfunding page has been set up to support our native rainforest restoration efforts by two UN Volunteers:
https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/c-offset?utm_term=mBzNdbWE8
Environmental impacts
? 40 environmental champions from three villages (Poutasi, Saleilua, Saaga) were trained in forest restoration methods, nursery work, transplanting, soil processing and clearing of invasive vine species.
? 60 people were also trained to understand a wide range of environmental threats, such as waste, invasive species as well as climate change, and how to manage them.
? 3.8 Ha (9.4 acres) of degraded rainforest in the first national park in the South Pacific- O le Pupu Pue National Park- was restored
? 10,200 + seedlings of native Samoan tree species were planted in the OLPP park
? Hundreds of further native trees were planted during various public open days at our other project site- the Mt Vaea Reserve
Sustainable development impacts
? The 3 target villages (population in 2011 of 1470) are now well versed in the range of environmental threats within their areas and were provided with skills to tackle these threats.
? The environmental champions were sensitized to a range of ?green livelihood options? such as nature-based tour guiding, developing marine reserves and mangrove conservation areas, managing waste, restoring forests, etc.
? The champions have been inspired to become greener citizens within their villages and to honor personal pledges made to protect the environment.
? Capacity building in forest restoration, waste management, roles of fish/marine and terrestrial reserves, environmental legislation, climate change and impacts on health and infrastructure was increased.
? Practical and hands on training in being a bird guide in the national park and tour guiding was provided.
? Practical training in nursery work, transplanting, potting, forest restoration and invasive weed management was also provided.
