Samoa's National Strategies being prepared and adopted

Since the UNCED Conference in 1992, this UN Conference on Environment and Development has insisted on each country preparing and adopting all kinds of environmental and developmental policies, strategies, plans, programmes, plans and projects.

The GEF, Global Environment Facility, has over $USD3Billion to invest into country actions that help the globe attain sustainable development. Yhe GEF-PAS (Pacific Alliance of Sustainability) meets tonight to allocate $USD100million to 15 Pacific Island Countries (Bali, 5th November, 2007).

Samoa has prepared 6 National Proposals for G-PAS, and Samoa will be a party to 4 or more Regional and/or Multi-Country Proposals with 10 or more projects being funded.

However, before Samoa can qualify for these funds from G-PAS, Samoa has to prove its eligibility, not only as a SIDS (Small Island Developing State) or LDC (Least Developed Country), but also its level of commitment and absorptive capacity to successfully implement these G-PAS-funded projects.

One way to prove Samoa's eligibility and capabilities is to table our National Strategies, Policies, Plans, Programmes, etc. as highlighted in the recent draft SDS (2008-2012). This Strategy for the Development of Samoa helps illustrate the development pathway being taken by Samoa, many of the designated activities being funded by G-PAS funding.

The next few postings clump most of these National policies, plans, strategies, etc. for your easy perusal, some have been adopted already, others are still being drafted and all stakeholders are willing to comment by simply pressing the COMMENTS button.