Country Context and status of National Communication

National climate change priorities, socio-economic scenarios and the driving forces

Climate Risk Profile (CRP) as a tool for vulnerability and adaptation assessment with key results on analysis of current and future climate risks

Key climate change adaptation strategies Best Practices Barriers and Constraints Key Lessons Learned & Recommendations

Samoa is a small volcanic island in the southwest Pacific, comprised of four main inhabited islands and six smaller, uninhabited islands . Samoa has a total land area of roughly 2,900 km2. The capital, Apia, is in the northern part of Upolu.

Adaptation & Mitigation strategies are an integral part of Samoa’s national response to climate change

Climate change adds to the urgency of other environmental and sustainable development priorities

Climate change brings new risks that we have not faced in the past that will require new strategies

- Sea level rise, drought, forest fires, climate related diseases

Priorities - NAPA & SNC 1. Water - Securing Community Water Resources 2. Forestry Reforestation and Rehabilitation and Community Forest Fire

Prevention Program 3. Health - Climate Health Program 4. Climate Services - Climate Early Warning System 5. Agriculture - Agriculture and Food Security Sustainability 6. Land use Planning - Zoning and Strategic Management Planning 7. Coastal Ecosystems - Implementing CIM Plans for Highly Vulnerable

Districts 8. Environment - Establishing Conservation Programme in highly

Vulnerable Marine & Terrestrial Areas9. Tourism - Sustainable Tourism Adaptation Program

Strengthen early warning capacity to deal with extreme events (cyclones, flooding, drought etc) Improved early warning systems for extreme climatic events and

Seasonal Forecasting Improve climate and weather forecast to assist relevant

sectors. Climate Health :

Improve monitoring of health concerns relating to Climate Change

Integration of meteorological data with health data Enhance capacity development within Health sector

Build village resilience through improved management of natural resources Mangroves Coral reefs Forests Water catchments etc

Food Security Improve management of village and commercial agricultural

activities in line with climate related risks. Practical adaptation measures to enhance resilience to climate

change

Part of the V&A process included updating Samoa’s Climate Risk Profile (CRP), which assesses the current and future climate risks for Samoa.

CRP - Provides an analysis of local HISTORICAL climate data and OUTPUTS FROM global climate models

CRP Summarizes the climate risk for Samoa (current and future)

Two key messages about Samoa’s CRP can be highlighted:  1. Samoa’s climate is already changing: Based on observed data (see

table below), an extreme event of daily rainfall of 200mm was an 11-year event for the period 1960–1979. This same extreme event now has a return period of three years. (A return period is the average number of years between a given extreme event.) Similar trends have been shown for other extreme events, such as extreme maximum temperatures, sea-level rise, and droughts, which clearly indicates that Samoa’s climate is undergoing significant changes.

2. Samoa’s climate will continue to change: Based on recorded data and global climate models, projections show Samoa’s climate will continue to change, taking into account a certain degree of uncertainty.

 

Example: Return Periods (yrs) – Daily Rainfall, Apia

Daily Rainfall of at Least (mm)

1960-1979 1980 - 2006

200 11.6 3.0

250 60 5.5

300 318 10

350 1700 21

Return Period: The average number of years between a given extreme event

29

30

31

32

33

34

35

36

1940

1943

1946

1949

1952

1955

1958

1961

1964

1967

1970

1973

1976

1979

1982

1985

1988

1991

1994

1997

2000

2003

2006

Year

An

nu

al M

ax

imu

m T

em

pe

ratu

re (

C)

Trend, plus increasedvariability

Maximum temperature, by year, for Apia (Young, 2007)

Cabinet approved the National Climate Change Policy in early 2008, providing “a national framework to mitigate the effects of climate change and adapt to its impacts in an effective and sustainable manner.”

The Strategy for the Development of Samoa (SDS) is Samoa’s main planning document, outlining a five-year program for national development. The latest update of the strategy covers the period 2008-2012 and includes a number of activities that are relevant to climate change.

Second National Communication - planning document for all sectors not only for adaptation but also for mitigation efforts

NAPA - National Adaptation Strategy for Samoa

Followed IPCC, UNFCCC and Pacific community-based V&A methodologies, adapted to Samoa

Used a risk-based approach where appropriate Facilitates a strong link between impacts and

adaptation Assessments grounded on up-to-date, factual, and

often quantitative information Teams made up of individuals who are experts in

their sectors Built on the considerable body of existing

information (e.g. NAPA, CRP) – rather than starting from scratch

At least one key sector not included in assessment; no direct involvement of NGOs and private sector; communities involved indirectly

Insufficient information to describe the baseline (i.e. current) conditions

Incomplete information on: Future climate of Samoa, at specific locations and

for relevant variables Future economic, social, cultural and

environmental changes Future impacts of climate change Adaptation measures that will reduce adverse

impacts

Build on: Traditional knowledge and practices Existing coping mechanisms

Use existing information to identify consequences of current climate variability and extremes

Develop simple models to: Illustrate impacts of climate change on key sector

components Assess effectiveness of adaptation measures

Fill gaps (e.g. no tourism) and reduce uncertainties (e.g. improve information access)

Improve engagement of NGOs, private sector and community stakeholders

Institutionalize technical level of CC country team – based on leaders of the sector teams, etc.

Climate change is already happening, with adverse consequences for Samoa

Despite international efforts to prevent further changes, the climate will continue to change, and at an increased rate in at least the present century

Adaptation is therefore essential Proactive adaptation is preferable There are limits to adaptation – not all

adverse impacts can be avoided through adaptation