Samoa is taking steps to build resilience in a new era where Pacific communities at the forefront of climate change impacts can define, address and seek support for climate-induced loss and damage.
This follows three decades of Pacific advocacy, led by Vanuatu as chair of the Alliance of Small Island States in 1991, for global recognition of loss and damage as a lived reality that requires action.
On Friday, key environment stakeholders met at the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme headquarters in Vailima for the Building Our Pacific Loss and Damage (BOLD) Response Project Inception Workshop for Samoa.
Assistant CEO for the Environment Sector Coordination Division at the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, Amituna’i Moira Faletutulu, said the workshop marks a transition from planning to implementation.
“Loss and damage refers to climate impacts beyond what we can adapt to. These are the damages that touch our people, our ecosystems, our cultures, and our identities,” Faletutulu said. “For Samoa, where our wellbeing, cultural heritage and relationship with the land and ocean are deeply intertwined, the significance of this work cannot be overstated.”
The BOLD Response Project is a six-year initiative funded by the International Climate Initiative in Germany. It aims to strengthen Pacific countries’ resilience to climate-related loss and damage. The one-day workshop, facilitated by SPREP and Climate Analytics, launched Samoa’s project and created a platform for stakeholders to align objectives and approaches with national priorities and existing efforts.
“Through this work, we will be better positioned to access financing from the new Loss and Damage Fund and ensure that Samoa remains at the forefront of shaping global conversations on loss and damage,” Faletutulu added.
“The BOLD Project is not just responding to climate loss and damage, it is about building resilience, preserving our identity and ensuring a sustainable future for Samoa.”
The workshop identified priorities for developing a country-level draft project concept to guide implementation in the coming years. SPREP Climate Change Adaptation Adviser, Muliagatele Filomena Nelson, said the long-term nature of the BOLD Project allows investment in critical relationships at national and regional levels to ensure resources respond directly to local priorities and needs.
Loss and damage was first raised at the UN Climate Negotiations by Vanuatu in 1991, proposing an insurance scheme for vulnerable countries. It remained a Pacific priority for decades, leading to the establishment of the Loss and Damage Fund at COP27 in 2022. At COP28 in Dubai, the historic capitalisation agreement of the Fund was hailed as a Pacific victory.
The BOLD Project builds on this progress by supporting communities in addressing both economic and non-economic losses through integration into national planning.
The project is being implemented in Fiji, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, Samoa, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.
For more information, contact SPREP Climate Change Adaptation Adviser Filomena Nelson at [email protected] or Climate Analytics’ Patrick Pringle at [email protected].
This media release was originally published by SPREP and Climate Analytics.
