UNDP GEF community-based adaptation project: country programme strategy Samoa 2008-2011

Abstract

Samoa, a small island developing state in the South West Pacific, faces significant climate change risks. These include sea level rise, increasingly intense storms, changing rainfall patterns, and impacts to ecosystems. As a semi-subsistence nation with approximately 70% of the population and infrastructure located in low-lying coastal areas, these impacts will pose significant risks to community livelihoods and to Samoa’s sustainable development. Awareness of climate change impacts has been particularly increased since the impact of tropical cyclones Ofa (1990) and Val (1991), which caused damage costing approximately four times Samoa’s gross domestic product. Samoa’s climate is tropical and marked by distinct wet and warm (November-April) and dry and cool (May-October) seasons. Temperatures are typically tropical (ranging from 24-32° C daily) and generally uniform throughout the year with little seasonal variation. The rainfall and humidity are usually high, with the average annual rainfall about 3,000mm. Approximately 66% of precipitation occurs during the wet season.