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A review of GIS and

Remote Sensing Practices in

MNRE, Samoa

Ministry of Natural Resources and

Environment

Pacific GIS & RS Conference Suva, Fiji 26th November – 1st December, 2018

VisionImproved quality of life for all Samoans that is premised on sustainable development and management of the country's

natural resources and environment.

Organizational Structure

(Insert organizational structure and highlighted selected divisions for the workshop/trip)

Spatial Information Agency (SIA)

Objectives;a) to support the effective and efficient use and sharing of

spatial information; b) to produce and maintain national coverage of topographic

maps, marine charts and other remote sensed imagery needed for the sustainable management of land, sea and other natural resources;

c) to protect Government’s interests in all matters of intellectual property and copyright concerning the production, supply and ownership of spatial databases and spatial information products and published material.

d) …etc…

Reference; Spatial Information Agency Act 2010

Structure

SIA

SurveyingNational Mapping

Quality Assurance

Geographic Names Board

MNRE

Tasks

• Geodetic Survey System

• Approved Cadastral Plans

• Approve Geographic Names in Samoa

• Update SOLA(Solutions for Open Land Administration)

• Mapping\GIS\Remote Sensing

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Use GIS applications in Forest Management

• Monitoring Forest Change (deforestation and forest degradation)

• Managing Forestry Asset Information - eg forest plantations, trails, roads, buildings etc

• Planning Forestry Activities - eg logging, forest restoration, replanting after cyclones, weed management, village woodlots, new national parks.

Samoa Forest Resource

Information System

GIS

Database

Forest Plot

Database

MapInfo Software• geographic information

• location

• area size

• distance

MS EXCEL and MS

ACCESS Software• quantitative data

• qualitative data

Spatial

Analysis

Data

Analysis

Eg Forest Cover Change (ABT 5)- State/Impact Indicator-

Maps are useful to show spatial distribution of forest cover and change over time

Analysis shows that the forest cover decreased by 1.7% from 1999 to 2013 (a reduction in forest cover from 60% to 58.3% of the land area of the country)

GIS Overlay

1954 Forest Cover

1987 Forest Cover

1999 Forest Cover

2013 Forest Cover

1999-2013 Forest CoverChange

Biodiversity management and conservation Area covered with invasive species (ABT 9)- State/Impact Indicator-

Analysis shows that the area dominated by invasive trees increased by 1.4% between 1999 and 2013

1999 Forest

Cover

2013 Forest

Cover

Change in PA CoveragePA/CA Coverage and Change (ABT 11)-

Response Indicator-

2010 PA/CAs over KBAs

A good example of an ACTIONABLE map…

2018 PA/CA over KBAs

?

Species Conservation Status (ABT 12)

- State/Impact Indicator-

2018 Map of Manumea or

other RL Species Distribution in

Samoa

2006 Map of Manumea Distribution in Samoa

?Samoa now has 93 species classified as

threatened on the IUCN RL…

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Use of GIS on Water resources management and development

Watershed characterization for the development of watershed management plan

Generation of prioritization maps for the implementation of conservation activities and measure

Monitoring of conservation and management operations through maps like (tree planting coverage, hydrometric network, Licensing of Water abstraction etc)

MNRE - WRD

Watershed Characterization

MNRE - WRD

P3DM

• P3DM is a community engagement tool which integratesspatial data with local “traditional knowledge” and usedwidely for spacial planning, climate change adaptation,Disaster Risk Reduction etc.

• P3DM is a product of GIS data, it uses GIS technology tobuild model from series of contour lines and importantsource of information to enter into GIS for participatoryplanning and implementation.

• P3DM is used widely in the Pacific in Fiji, Solomon Islands,PNG, Samoa ,Tonga, Nauru and now Cook Island.

Participatory Three Dimensional Model

Participatory 3-Dimensioanl Model in Samoa

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Green Climate

Fund pilot site

Vaisiganocatchment Fa’afetai Lava!!!