Conservation International Samoa is the Samoa programme of Conservation International, an environmental non-governmental organization. The programme's work has focused on ocean planning and marine conservation in partnership with the Government of Samoa and other stakeholders, including support for the Samoa Marine Spatial Plan, a marine spatial planning framework that applies across Samoa's exclusive economic zone and uses ocean zoning to designate fully protected marine protected areas alongside areas intended for managed use.[1][2]
Conservation International Samoa works with the Government of Samoa, including the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, on ocean-planning processes and marine conservation priorities.[1] This work sits within the national policy framework set out in the Samoa Ocean Strategy 2020-2030, which is an integrated approach to managing Samoa's territorial sea and EEZ, including marine spatial planning and strengthening protected-area networks alongside community-based and sectoral management tools.[3]
In June 2025, Samoa legally adopted the Samoa Marine Spatial Plan, which Conservation International supports through its Samoa programme; the plan was designed to fully protect 30% of the country's ocean area while sustainably managing the remainder, including nine new fully protected marine protected areas covering 14,000sqmi.[1][4]
History
Conservation International has worked in Samoa since 2006.[5]
Samoa's marine spatial planning initiative began in 2019 with support from the European Union and technical support from the IUCN.[6] In the early 2020s, stakeholder consultations and public-awareness activities were carried out and supporting studies were prepared as part of the process.[7][8] In 2024, the plan was released for public consultation and a PDF version was published by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment.[9][10] The plan was legally adopted in June 2025 with zoning that included fully protected areas as well as zones for cooperative management and general use.[4][2]
Selected programme locations in Samoa (1 Apia; 2 Aleipata (Upolu); 3 Salelologa (Savai'i); 4 National waters (marine spatial planning))
National
Conservation International Samoa works with the Government of Samoa, including the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, on ocean-planning processes and marine conservation priorities.[1]
In April 2024, Samoa participated in the Blue Prosperity Coalition's Blue Prosperity Leaders Forum in Athens, held ahead of the Our Ocean Conference. The forum was facilitated by Blue Prosperity Coalition founding members, including Conservation International.[11]
Samoa's ocean-protection commitments, including work on marine spatial planning supported by Conservation International, also featured in wider regional and international discussions. At the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Samoa in 2024, ocean protection and the global 30 by 30 target featured in leaders' discussions; Commonwealth leaders adopted the Apia Ocean Declaration, including calls to protect 30% of oceans by 2030, finalise a global plastics treaty, and ratify the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction agreement, also known as the High Seas Treaty.[12][13] In May 2025, Samoan climate activist Brianna Fruean wrote a Reuters commentary ahead of the United Nations Ocean Conference calling for action on ocean-protection pledges and for faster ratification of the treaty.[14]
National waters and the exclusive economic zone
Conservation International supports Samoa's national ocean planning through the Samoa Marine Spatial Plan, which applies across Samoa's exclusive economic zone.[9][2] The Samoa Ocean Strategy 2020-2030 covers Samoa's territorial sea and EEZ claim, using baseline points recorded in the Government of Samoa's 2017 Maritime Zones Order, and reports Samoa's EEZ as approximately 46,000sqmi.[3]
The marine spatial planning initiative began in 2019 with support from the European Union and technical support from the IUCN.[6] A main series of stakeholder consultations in 2021–2022 reached 2,597 representatives from coastal villages and stakeholder groups, and the consultation team included staff from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MNRE), the Samoa Umbrella for Non-Governmental Organisations, Conservation International's Samoa office, and a local project coordinator.[6]
Draft regional guidelines on integrated ocean management published by the Pacific Community state that Samoa's marine spatial planning was overseen through a national steering committee structure and that consultations included 45 community workshops across 185 coastal village communities, alongside consultation with key stakeholder sectors such as tourism and fisheries, government ministries and organisations, and NGOs and civil society.[15]
In September 2021, marine spatial planning consultations ran from August to October 2021 and implementation support included MNRE, the Samoa Umbrella for Non-Governmental Organisations, Conservation International Samoa, and the Waitt Institute and Waitt Foundation, with project funding linked to the European Union's Global Climate Change Alliance Plus initiative.[7] In September 2022, awareness materials were launched and supporting studies were presented as part of the process, including work on Special and Unique Marine Areas, marine ecosystem service valuation, and a marine legal review.[8]
The Samoa Ocean Strategy website outlines ocean zoning in the marine spatial plan, including:
Fully protected area zones (areas closed to extractive use);[2]
Special management zones (areas with tailored protections and management measures);[2]
Cooperative management zones (areas intended for co-management and managed use); and
General use zones (areas intended for broader sustainable use and activity).[2]
Samoa's legal adoption in 2025 included nine new fully protected marine protected areas covering 14,000sqmi and targets to fully protect 30% of Samoa's ocean area while sustainably managing the remainder.[4]
Nearshore and community-managed areas
The marine spatial plan was designed to complement existing nearshore and community-managed conservation approaches, including fish reserves and district marine protected areas.[4] Community-based fisheries management programmes and community-level planning, including Community Integrated Management plans, form part of Samoa's ocean policy and implementation context alongside sectoral management tools.[3] The Samoa Ocean Strategy 2020-2030 also identifies the Fisheries Management Act 2016 as key legislation guiding integrated management of Samoa's fisheries resources, including principles such as precaution and sustainable development.[3]
Coral reefs and reef flats influenced tsunami impacts on Upolu during the 2009 South Pacific tsunami and have been discussed as potential buffers for extreme waves on Samoan coasts, including sites in the Aleipata district.[16]
Upolu and Savai'i coastal districts
Conservation International Samoa has supported education and resilience activities linked to coastal communities. In 2022, the programme worked with the Samoa Voyaging Society on the Manaaki project, supported through New Zealand's Manaaki fund, and used the Gaualofa, a traditional double-hulled voyaging canoe, as a platform for activity-based environmental education as part of its Guardians programme in at least four districts in Samoa, with planning for similar delivery in Tokelau.[17]
The Gaualofa, used in the programme's Guardians-linked environmental education work, has also been used by the Samoa Voyaging Society for its Guardians environmental education campaign. In November 2020, the Samoa Voyaging Society used the Gaualofa on a seven-week voyage that included district workshops and sessions with Year 7 students from eight schools.[18]
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