Alike many Samoan village communities, men take the lead in many aspects of projects like this, for example through helping the contruction companies remove any material that is not wanted in the natural pool as well as helping rebuild. This project gave women power and responsability as they have been described as the main users of the freshwater sources, so they were entrusted with collecting usage fees from tourists who visit both the pool or MPA. Being part of the project has allowed them to take ownership of a greater number of roles in the village community, and ecotourism has demonstrated the value of the natural resources within Savaia.
As they had already implemented a very successful, award-winning MPA, the village was already well-known within Samoa, so they gained publicity through MNRE, the loal newspaper (Samoa Observer), as well as through promoting workshops and public awareness events on their facebook page.
Planning non gef grant
It has also been mentioned that the third and final pool will be restored to a fully functioning freshwater source that can withstand future climatic events and rising sea levels. This will be possible due to donations from the church, who will be the primary beneficiaries of such a project due to the location of the pool being by the pastor?s plot.
Linkages gef projects
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Planning gef grant
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Policy Influence
Policy has been influenced at a community level, with certain village by-laws being altered to ensure that the freshwater sources are not exploited or misused. As these sources of water were previously utilised by the community to wash clothes and other items, this practice can no longer be carried out in the pool, and no detergents or soaps can be taken into the water for such purposes. Sign boards have been erected to ensure people from neighbouring communities and tourists are aware of such restrictions to its use. To make the Savaia village community aware of the policy changes as well as to increase community involvement, a workshop was held whereby information on the utilising and maintenance of the freshwater pools was provided to all inhabitants that attended. It proved hugely successful and ensures that future generations can enjoy and continue to utilise fresh water from the pools in a sustainable way.
Policy Impact
The Committee realised it was necessary to produce new village by-laws to ensure the village pool wasused correctly, as well as to ensure the surrounding marine environment was maintained and protected. This was carried out with workshops being implemented to spread awareness to the community as well as sign borads being erected around the project site to ensure the restrictions that had been put in place were adhered to.
Replication of project activities
The funds received by the Savaia Village Council proved sufficient to allow the rehabilitation of a second freshwater pool in the village, located within 100m of the larger pool, showing that upscaling is an easy process within a project of this sort.
Notable Community Participation
The main role, for both young men and women involves being responsible for maintaining the cleanliness of the pool, carrying out on every final Saturday of the month an efficient brush of the wall surfaces. This reduces the build-up of any algae and bacteria that could cause contamination of the freshwater pool. As the MPA is situated nearby the pool, tourist facilities such as toilets, changing rooms and covered seating areas are shared by the two sites, with young women responsible for cleaning and maintenance. The youth, often along with a village Matai, also stand watch over the freshwater pools and MPA, to ensure no illegal activities take place, such as washing in the pools with soaps or detergents or illegal fishing in the protected area.
Emphasis on Sustainable Livelihoods
There has been a long tradition of using freshwater sources in Samoan village communities, and the successful restoration carried out in this project has increased livelihood security within the village, who now have a clean fresh water source for when the water pipes are interrupted. As well as that, money generated from usage fees (10 WST per person) from both the MPA and freshwater pools has provided important changes benefitting the village community.
Project sustainability
Through full community involvement, the natural pools are being well maintained along with the MPA and necessary facilities (fale and changing rooms/toilets), and as they have been constructed to be able to withstand natural weather events, future generations should be able to enjoy and utilise the pools. On top of that, through charging toursits an entrance fee to both the pools and the MPA, there is a steady income for the village to carry out all the maintenance needed.
Significant Participation of Indigenous Peoples
Workshops were carried out involving all members of the Savaia Community, including women and children, and community members of all ages and genders were heavily involved with implementation and maintenance, such as through cleaning of the pool, the reconstruciton itself etc.
Project Results
See attached fact sheet.