The USAID in partnership with the Government of Samoa through the Public Service Commission held a five-day Project Preparation training to boost the capacity of participants to help facilitate the flow of climate change adaptation finance in the country.

The Chairman of the Public Service Commission – Aiono Mose Su’a delivered the opening remarks and he echoed the efforts put in by the Samoan Government’s countering Climate Change and its impacts and have therefore embarked on planning for longer term strategy to ensure that Samoa is sustainable Climate Change ready. As quoted “Samoa have also embarked on a Longer-Term Strategy, the Samoa 2040 to map out a twenty-year development path to try and sustainably meet the needs of our people and make a country viable against the imminent threat of Climate Change and a highly unpredictable geo-political environment that is difficult for a small Pacific Island nation to navigate. Our Pacific Leaders have made widely known our region’s fears and call for action on climate change for anyone who cares to listen. Samoa and the Pacific needs help to make meaningful responses to the danger and impacts of Climate Change. Against this backdrop our small islands must try and do our best with the things over which we have some measure of control.”

The workshop was designed to strengthen the skills of 40 representative from various Government agencies, civil society organisations and the private sector to prioritize areas of support that align with country’s climate adaptation plans and goals, design effective adaptation projects and to improve access to external financial resources that could support those plans.

The five-day course utilized materials developed by USAID specifically tailored to address the specific needs and requirements of stakeholders in Samoa.
The training was held on the 2nd – 6th of September, 2019 at the Samoa Shipping Services Conference room and was facilitated by Dr. Keith Bettinger and Dr. Ryan Longman from the University of Hawaii.