Samoa 2012 Environmental Outlook: developing a vision for the next 50 years

This document is the initial stage of assessment for Samoa's State of the Environment. Samoa's rich cultural heritage and future prosperity depends on a healthy environment. Over the past 50 years, Samoa's environment has been pressured by increasing population and development, agricultural expansion, invasive species of plants and animals, and disasters such as tsunamis, cyclones, and fires. A workshop was held to develop an assessment framework and assign expert assessments for six key habitats: Cloud Forest (very good) and Upland Forest (fair), Lowlands (poor), Coastal Strand (poor), Nearshore Marine (fair) and Offshore Marine (fair), and Rivers and Streams (good to poor); as well as other key resource areas such as climate change, air quality, waste disposal, renewable energy and population pressures. A Samoan language version is also available.

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