World Symposium on Climate Change in Samoa

By Joyetter Luamanu 05 July 2017, 12:00AM

The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Fiame Naomi Mata’afa will officially open the World Symposium on Climate Change Impacts and Adaptation Strategies in Coastal Communities.

The three-day event will begin today at the Tanoa Tusitala Conference Room.

Some of the important issues that will be discussed at the event are Climate Change in Coastal Areas by Dr Netatau Pelisikoti and Enhancing Climate Change Resilience of Coastal Resources and Communities in Samoa.

There will be speakers from overseas as well as Samoa.

The Symposium will focus on managing climate change in coastal regions, meaning that it will serve the purpose of showcasing experiences from research, field projects and best practice to foster climate change adaptation in coastal areas and communities which may be useful or implemented.

According to the background of the event done by Professor Dr. Walter Leal the aims to discuss the influences of the damages and the threats posed by climate change to estuaries and coastal communities, to introduce approaches, methods, initiatives and projects which demonstrate how coastal communities can successfully meet the challenges climate poses to them.

And also an emphasis will be on the latest research but also on infrastructure projects, demonstrations on the use of technologies and natural and artificial means to reduce the impacts of extreme events and sea level rise to coastal communities.

He also stated that there needs to be an introduction of funding schemes and mechanisms which can finance climate change adaptation in coastal areas and a need to network the participants, disseminate examples of best practice and foster collaboration in this very important field.

 According A.D.R.A’s Country Director who is the Co-Chair of the Symposium Su’a Julia Wallwork, Samoa will benefit from this because it is mainly coastal community.

“This is another way to create more awareness and the way the world is in the focus is on climate change and it’s the small island states that will be mostly affected,” she said.

“The Impacts on Coastal Communities and that is exactly what ADRA does we are preparing our communities to our different programmes to respond themselves because we don’t have the resources or the facilities.

“For example the tsunami when it occur the village people were the ones that were affected the most so we have to train how to be aware and form their own respond teams and to respond in times of disaster.

“But for Climate Change we have to create a better awareness of how the world is changing whether we like it or not whether our belief is in God and whatever but at the same time “we need to work as well as having faith” to prepare ourselves.

“Men do not survive by faith without work; they need to have faith and work as well.”

By Joyetter Luamanu 05 July 2017, 12:00AM
Samoa Observer

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