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Management plan of the Palolo Deep Marine Reserve in Apia, Samoa

Protected areas are areas of land and/or sea especially dedicated to the protection of biological diversity, natural and cultural resources, which are managed by government or nongovernmental agencies. Protected areas include, but are not limited to: National Parks, National Reserves, Game Reserves, Forest Reserves, Forest Parks, Marine Reserves, Marine Sanctuaries, and Nature Reserves.

The Palolo Deep Marine Reserve known for its unique shape, the “deep”, was established as a marine reserve in 1974 under the National Parks and Reserve Act. The reserve is a fringing reef comprising a total area of 137.5 hectares located at the northeast of Apia harbor. The proximity of the reserve to Apia town has attracted many tourists as well as local people to the reserve for recreational activities such as snorkeling, scuba diving as well as for researching

The conservation values and biodiversity of Pohnpei's forests are perhaps as important as their hydrological buffering function. A combination of strong traditional respect for the upland forest, heavy human depopulation during the last century, and relatively difficult access to inland areas have spared the upland forests of Pohnpci Island from much of the disturbance and destruction that has occurred in the island's lowlands and on other Micronesian islands. These factors, along with the relative age and isolation of the island make the flora of Pohnpei's upland forests some of the most diverse in Micronesia, with a high level of endemicity.

The Palolo Deep Marine Reserve is a fringing reef encompassing a lagoon comprising a total area of 137.5 hectares. The area was initially folmalised as a Marine Reserve in 1974 under the National Parks and Reserves Act though no management plan had been prepared. This report is to provide a greater understanding of the marine environment within the Reserve. A basic inventor-v- and classification of the marine environment was undertaken together with provision for continued monitoring.