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Report from the PACC project

The village community expressed their support and agreed that village by-laws are necessary for Tafitoala. As expressed this will assist the village council of chiefs in managing resources and set up formal penalties for those who may/will breach the village laws. Following the initial planning workshop the MNRE (WRD) prepared a community consultation with the entire community, to undertake a situational analysis as well as gauge views of the village on what rules were necessary for the continuing sustainability of the resource. It was expected that the community consultation will provide all the baseline information of what problems were and how the village groups foresee by-laws as a means of protecting the resource from these problems.

Water is life; it is a resource, a need that is vital for everyone. Samoa’s water resources is at its crucial state. Its management has always been fragmented amongst the key stakeholders including local communities over the past years, however, recently the government through the Water Resources Division has tried to bring together the key players to identify ways for the sustainable management of water resources in Samoa. The increasing social and economic developments have led to the detrimental threat towards this valuable and limited resource. The Pacific Adaptation to Climate Change Project (PACC) in partnership with the WRD funded the first initial workshop as an initiative in the formulation of village by laws for the village of Tafitoala. This collaboration aims to raise the awareness of the community in village by-law, its implications towards water resources management and also its essential significance as part of measures towards climate change. It also strengthens the importance of community involvement in watershed management which provides environmental services not only for their livelihoods but also increasing climate change resilience.

Almost all of Niue’s water (with the exception of some rainwater harvesting tanks) is supplied by the island’s underground lens. Approximately 80% of this water is used for domestic purposes, 15% for agriculture and 5% for commercial and industrial use. This water is used by an on island population of approximately 900-1400 people. There is strong political and community desire to ensure the long term sustainability of Niue’s water supply and to ensure that it is robust enough to support economic growth in industries like tourism and adapt to possible impacts from climate change.