Samoa has a Marine Resources Use Policy, and is working towards the delineation of its EEZ with the assistance of the Commonwealth Secretariat and the SOPAC.
Traditionally Samoans rely on marine resources for their well-being and daily required sustenance. Over 70% of villages are located on the coastal fringe of the islands, and subsistence fishing is a major activity of the inhabitants of such villages. Fisheries also play an extremely important role in the economy of Samoa as well as contributing significantly to the health and nutrition of the people. Fisheries are the major income-earner for the country. Offshore fisheries, in particular the tuna sector, have been recently developed and now are the most valuable among fisheries contributing significantly to Samoa’s economy. However, pressures arising as a result of overfishing, inshore environment degradation, ongoing coastal developments, pollution, and natural disasters have adversely affected the coastal resources and marine environment.
15 February 2013: The UN Security Council held an informal, Arria formula meeting on the “security dimensions of climate change.” Tony deBrum, Minister in Assistance to the President of the Republic of the Marshall Islands, gave a press conference at UN Headquarters in New York, US, after speaking as a panelist about the security issues faced by his country and other small island developing States (SIDS).
The meeting, closed to outside observers and media, was organized by the Governments of...
18 February 2013: The Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) has reported that, in response to the Hyderabad Call for Biodiversity Champions in support of the Aichi Biodiversity Targets, the Government of the Maldives has pledged that the entire country and its Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) will become a UN Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Biosphere Reserve by 2017.
The pledge by the Republic of Maldives is in response to the Hyderabad Call for...
12 February 2013: The Division for Sustainable Development (DSD) of the UN Department for Economic and Social Development (DESA) hosted an online panel discussion as part of its ongoing follow-up to the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD, or Rio+20). The event took place on Google+ Hangout and featured four UN and civil society experts: Nikhil Seth, DSD Director; Elizabeth Thompson, Rio+20 Executive Coordinator; Langson James “Kimo” Goree VI, International Institute for...
