The National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan is a cross-sectoral strategic document of Samoa for the period 2015-2020. Its main objective is to protect, conserve and sustainably manage Samoa’s biological and genetic resources so that they will continue to flourish and regenerate, for present and future generations. More specifically, the document aims to address the underlying causes of biodiversity loss by mainstreaming biodiversity across government and society by noting the following targets: by 2020, at the latest, the people of Samoa are aware of the values of biodiversity, the threats its faces, and the steps the Government and the people can take to conserve, protect and use it sustainably; by 2020, at the latest, the government agencies, private sector organizations and groups, NGOs, civil society and stakeholders at all levels have taken steps to achieve or have implemented plans for sustainable production and consumption and have kept the impacts of use of natural resources well within safe ecological limits. Further, the strategic document also provides for improving the status of biodiversity by safeguarding ecosystems, species and genetic diversity including through the following targets: by 2020, at least 17 per cent of terrestrial and inland water, and 10 per cent of coastal and marine areas, especially areas of particular importance for biodiversity and ecosystem services, are conserved through effectively and equitably managed, ecologically representative and well connected systems of protected areas and other effective area-based conservation measures, and integrated into the wider landscape and seascapes; by 2020, the genetic diversity of cultivated plants and farmed and domesticated animals and of wild relatives, including other socio-economically as well as culturally valuable species, is at least maintained, and strategies have been developed and implemented for minimizing genetic erosion and safeguarding their genetic diversity. Additionally, the document also plans to enhance the benefits to all from biodiversity and ecosystem services under the following targets: by 2020, ecosystems that provide essential services, including services related to water, and contribute to health, livelihoods and well-being, are restored and safeguarded, taking into account the needs of women, local communities, and the poor and vulnerable; by 2020, ecosystem resilience and the contribution of biodiversity to carbon stocks has been enhanced, through conservation and restoration, including restoration of at least 15 per cent of degraded ecosystems, thereby contributing to climate change mitigation and adaptation and to combating desertification; and by the end of 2015, Samoa has ratified and or acceded to the Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization with national legislation enacted to support its implementation. Finally, the document also provides for enhancing implementation through participatory planning, knowledge management and capacity building through the following targets: by 2020 Samoa has developed, adopted as a policy instrument, and is actively implementing an effective, participatory and updated national biodiversity strategy and action plan; by 2020, the traditional knowledge, innovations and practices of indigenous and local communities relevant for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity, and their customary use of biological resources, are fully protected by national legislation and relevant international obligations, and fully integrated and reflected in national and sector plans and budgetary processes; and by 2020, knowledge, the science base and technologies relating to biodiversity, its values, functioning, status and trends, and the consequences of its loss, are improved, widely shared and transferred, and applied. The responsibility for coordinating the NBSAP implementation is assigned to the Environment Technical Advisory Committee. But the specific responsibility for implementing the bulk of the proposed actions lies largely with Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment.
National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP).