Samoa is designing an integrated national coral reef monitoring programme to better inform management of Samoa’s coral reefs and associated fisheries. This follows a five-day workshop with key government ministries, intergovernmental and non-government partners, as well as a two-day workshop with local communities.
In addition, Samoa has played a key role in a project to better understand how traditional knowledge can be incorporated into coral reef management and strengthened through knowledge exchange, which was finalised in Aleipata village this week.
National coral reef monitoring programme
Samoan government and relevant stakeholders involved in coral reef monitoring are working together on designing and developing a national coral reef monitoring programme to strengthen the collaboration to better inform the status and trends of Samoa’s coral reefs.
The workshop, facilitated by The Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) in partnership with the Secretariat for the Pacific Regional Environmental Programme (SPREP), reviewed existing monitoring regimes, identified challenges and gaps, and explored new ideas.
The national programme will support Samoa Ocean Strategy’s priorities: to improve research and data collection and monitoring; and, to strengthen the effectiveness of coastal management using traditional knowledge, innovation, and marine science.
Assistant Chief Executive Officer of Samoa’s Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, Seumalo Afele Fai’ilagi, said, “The ReefCloud project is an avenue to assist the Government of Samoa to develop a national coral reef monitoring programme and looking at an implementation plan, laying out the different ways national agencies can engage in monitoring our coral reefs”.
“It can also assist with the issue of reliable data available on the status of coral reefs in Samoa, this can support the Samoa Ocean Strategy in the coming years,” he added.
The Samoa Monitoring Programme Workshop was held 12-16 February at the Ministry for Natural Resources and Environment in Apia.
Drawing on traditional knowledge for coral reef management
A third and final international workshop, co-hosted by AIMS and SPREP, was held in Aleipata to help Pacific communities incorporate traditional methods of marine resource management with the latest science and technology to improve the effectiveness of existing strategies.
The aim is to inform adaptive co-management of coral reef ecosystems in a future of accelerating climate change impacts.
The workshops, held in Samoa and Australia over the past 12 months, have drawn on the wealth of traditional and local resource management knowledge in Australia, Papua New Guinea, and Samoa. Participants included the Samoan Government and community, Australia’s Gidarjil Development Corporation, Papua New Guinea’s Sea Women of Melanesia (SWoM), and Conservation International - Samoa.
The aim is to facilitate an increased, more inclusive, and effective contribution from both coral reef monitoring and traditional knowledge, to inform coral reef management across the Pacific.
AIMS Research Team Lead Dr Manuel Gonzalez Rivero said western science and traditional knowledge were both about observation and communicating how nature changed in response to pressures but this information was gathered and shared in very different ways.
“Nowadays anyone can take a photo – and it’s a great platform to collect data,” he said.
“At AIMS we have created ReefCloud, a platform that uses AI to help us extract information from those images and put it in a language that is easily transferable and can inform decision makers about how reefs are changing and to identify those that most urgently need protection.
“Reefs are changing very quickly, so we really need to innovate in how we preserve coral reefs.”
Mr Rahul Tikaram, SPREP Coastal and Marine Specialist, Pacific BioScapes Programme said: "Under the Pacific Coral Reef Action Plan, we're combining advanced scientific techniques, indigenous knowledge, and local involvement to improve management outcomes using a unique, innovative monitoring method called ReefCloud, developed by AIMS.
“Nearing completion, this approach aligns with Coral Reef Action Plan Areas 2 and 8 promoting traditional wisdom and science.
“Our objective is to safeguard our precious marine ecosystems, ensuring they continue to support island communities for generations. With the monumental task at hand, our commitment to these initiatives ensures a balanced approach to conservation and development in the Pacific region despite unprecedented biodiversity threats and resource restraints."
The programme is part of a four-year investment by AIMS and the Australian Government to help to build coral reef monitoring capabilities in the Pacific by expanding the use of ReefCloud to support the Pacific Coral Reef Action Plan.
It is also supported by the Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network (GCRMN) and the Accenture Foundation.
To access the Pacific Coral Reef Action Plan please visit: https://library.sprep.org/content/pacific-coral-reef-action-plan-2021-2030
For further information: please contact Mr Rahul Tikaram, SPREP Coastal and Marine Specialist, at [email protected] or Ms Danielle Koopman at [email protected].