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The inextricable links between climate change and sustainable development have been increasingly recognised over the past decade. In 2007, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)1 concluded with very high confidence that climate change would impede the ability of many nations to achieve sustainable development by mid-century and become a security risk that would steadily intensify, particularly under greater warming scenarios. Article 4.8 of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) lists several groups of countries that merit particular consideration for assistance to adapt to climate change “especially: (a) small island countries, (b) countries with low-lying coastal areas, c) countries with areas prone to natural disasters.” Small Island Developing States (SIDS) have characteristics which make them particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change, sea level rise (SLR) and extreme events, including: relative isolation, small land masses, concentrations of population and infrastructure in coastal areas, limited economic base and dependency on natural resources, combined with limited financial, technical and institutional capacity for adaptation.2

The nations of CARICOM16 in the Caribbean together with Pacific island countries contribute less than 1% to global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (approx. 0.33%17 and 0.03%18 respectively), yet these countries are expected to be among the earliest and most impacted by climate change in the coming decades and are least able to adapt to climate change impacts. These nations’ relative isolation, small land masses, their concentrations of population and infrastructure in coastal areas, limited economic base and dependency on natural resources, combined with limited financial, technical and institutional capacity all exacerbates their vulnerability to extreme events and climate change impacts. Stabilising global GHG emissions and obtaining greater support for adaptation strategies are fundamental priorities for the Caribbean Basin and Pacific island countries. CARICOM leaders recently unveiled their collective position that global warming should be held to no more than 1.5°C19 and continue to develop a Climate Change Strategic Plan. The Pacific island countries have expressed their priorities for addressing climate change regionally through the Pacific Leaders’ Call to Action on Climate Change20 and the Pacific Islands Framework for Action on Climate Change 2006-2015.21

The American Samoa Department of Marine and Wildlife Resources (“DMWR”)began working with local communities on the island of Tutuila in 2001 to develop the Community­Based Fisheries Management Program (“CBFMP”). Through a series of meetings with representatives from select villages, DMWR sought the voluntary participation of communities in an effort to manage and monitor their own coral reef resources. The program has grown to include seven villages, each of which is responsible for all aspects of managing and monitoring their own resources, with technical assistance from DMWR. Committees from each village have designed and implemented management plans which vary from village to village, but generally include some type of restriction on fishing activity on part or all of the reef fronting their villages. Many of the participating villages have reported anecdotally that they have seen improvement in their resources since the program’s inception, but as of yet, there has been no effort devoted towards scientifically monitoring these areas. As such, a robust, quantitative analysis of the effectiveness of the management efforts has not been possible in any of the participating villages. While it may be too late to obtain useful “baseline” data that shows the state of the marine resources prior to the implementation of the management plans, it is imperative that monitoring commence as soon as possible to allow for future analysis of the trends in the health of the reefs of the villages participating in the CBFMP.

Committees from each village have designed and implemented management plans which vary from village to village, but generally include some type of restriction on fishing activity on part or all of the reef fronting their villages. Many of the participating villages have reported anecdotally that they have seen improvement in their resources since the program’s inception, but as of yet, there has been no effort devoted towards scientifically monitoring these areas. As such, a robust, quantitative analysis of the effectiveness of the management efforts has not been possible in any of the participating villages. While it may be too late to obtain useful “baseline” data that shows the state of the marine resources prior to the implementation of the management plans, it is imperative that monitoring commence as soon as possible to allow for future analysis of the trends in the health of the reefs of the villages participating in the CBFMP.