Apia, 14 July 2022: The Scientific Research Organization of Samoa (SROS) and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) have signed an agreement for the partnership to support local research in Samoa. This partnership is a result of the UN Joint Programme on Ecosystem Services Building Forward Better by Safeguarding Natural Capital and Ecosystem Services (commonly called, UNJP on Ecosystem Services).
Forward Better by Safeguarding Natural Capital and Ecosystem’ on 14 July 2022. This agreement is expressly committing the two organizations to the development of research and actions on the protection of endangered aquatic/marine and land plant species. This collaboration is planned to improve our understanding of the function of – and change in – ecosystems and their consequent impact on plant species survival as well as the medicinal value of Samoan flora. This Partnership would support local scientific research that would also inform economic and managerial decision-making around areas of investment for local economic growth.
The UNJP on Ecosystem Services is supporting the development of policy and planning, collection of data and valuation of ecosystem services to support the development of scenarios for the future, reporting against sustainable development goals (SDGs) 11-15, and building a case for investment in ecosystem services. The ecosystem services are central to human wellbeing, which are critical for the realization of
SDGs 1 to 3.
The UNJP on Ecosystem Services is a joint initiative of the United Nations’ Joint SDG Fund and the Government of Samoa. It is led by UNESCO with UNEP and UNESCAP as the participating UN organizations and SPREP as the regional partner.
The national implementing partners are the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MNRE) and SROS. The partnership with SROS brings WST 160700.80 in phase 1 and would add WST 77,951.00 in the planned phase 2 involving actions on research findings.
