Bio-diversity

General and specific objectives of the project; To establish a management committee (MC) in the Mataf`a Village and mangrove conservation area to achieve measurable poverty alleviation and biodiversity conservation; to build management capacity of the resource owners and MC and enhance their understanding of the biodiversity resources attributes of the conservation area in Matafaa for the sustainable livelihood of the Matafaa villagers; and for replication to other nearby villagers. What the project is about and how it shall be implemented The people of Matafa`a Village are envisaging that their trusted development partner OLSS will help coordinate the implementation of this project which is set out herewith in a three phased approach 1. A reconnaissance of the resources was carried out in 2004 by OLSSI and initial discussions held with the community on what exactly is the nature of their request (2). We have asked OLSSI to engage specialists to accurately give costs estimates to the different components of this proposal in order to enable us understand fully the magnitude of this project and to have clear expectations on outputs and outcomes, and an appreciation of timeframes to achieve each project component.(3.) We will plan, coordinate, and help implement activities of this project with OLSSI specifically to; * set-up the management committee, build some office premises, and train them on eco-tour activities based on existing conservation attributes of Matafa`a - mangrove crabs, mangrove types of fisheries spawning in the area, types of birds found in the area, etc.Train the committee members as tour guides, and some on office administration and management, build tourist store to be integrated as one of the village goods and services stores, and provide it with maps, brochures,etc and equipment for hire by tourist; build wooden walkway around and through mangrove areas; carry out marketing activities and setup village agreement to ensure equitable sharing. ***** PROJECT UPDATE: This project has been long over due because of internal village conflicts. The Secretariat has had series of meetings with the village, even with members of the NSC regarding the submission of project progress reports. Up to this day, no report is forth coming and community has been very unreliable and has not responded to any follow-up letters or meetings. Recommend to Terminate Project and advise community for remaining fund to return to the programme. *****

Samoa