Samoa

A National Workshop on the Underlying Causes of Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Samoa was held on 17 - 21 December, 2002, in the Village of Aopo, Island of Savaii, organised by Ole Siosiomaga Society Inc. (OLSSI) and hosted by the Global Forest Coalition.

Samoa has a 2,935 square kilometre of land area comprising two main islands, Upolu and Savaii, and seven smaller islands. More than two thirds of the 178,000 population live on Upolu. The central highlands of Upolu and Savaii are sparsely populated. Most people live on the coast. Over 81% of the land is held under customary tenure, the remainder is held by the government (11%), Samoa Land Corporation (5%), and freehold (3%).

The Pacific Ocean country of Samoa includes the islands of Savai'i, Upolu, Apolina and Manono, the two former being the largest and more populated. As in many other countries, forests are declining and according to a study carried out by Groome and Poury in 1995, approximately one-third (23,885 hectares) of the country's forests were cleared between 1977 and 1990. The forest clearance rate during that period of 3% per annum was one of the highest in the world.