Project preparation document March 1995 : The Saanapu/Sataoa conservation area project

Abstract

The proposed Conservation Area is centred on an area of mangrove forest (c75 hectares) in the customary ownership of Saanapu and Sataoa villages on the south coast of Upolu. This area is one of five Grade 1 sites identified by a 1991 survey of lowland ecosystems as the best remaining in Western Samoa (Park et al., 1992) . It is given priority as the best mangrove ecosystem in the country, acknowledging that mangroves have a key role to play in sustaining lagoon fisheries on which many Samoans in coastal villages depend. The two villages involved have made a commitment to conservation of this area dating back to 1992 when the results of the survey were presented to them. The project also hopes to extend conservation and sustainable development principles to other lands owned by these villages, and in the long-term to the whole Safata District.