€¦  · Web viewCurrently only one airline flies to Samoa, but if more airlines could be enticed to fly here this would eliminate the current monopoly and would introduce competition

SAMOABy

Ben Loring Period 2

Steilacoom High School

Introduction

The country I for my Curriculum Based Assessment is Samoa. It is an island country

situated in the South Pacific Ocean, in the continent of Oceania. It is a small island, but the

connections to the United States are many because United States still has a legal relationship to

American Samoa. The people are culturally homogeneous, with a long history and culture that

assist in the governing of their islands. This history and culture can generally attributed to a nice

place, with a good environment and a low crime rate. I believe it is a great place to live and visit.

Fig 1

Where is it?

Fig 2

Standard of Living

Samoa has a good standard of living unlike many countries; most of the resources go to

the basics needed to live like shelter, food and clothing. Its location in the south Pacific means a

generally temperature range where you do not need great amounts of energy to heat or cool your

house.

Country Classification

Samoa is a 2nd World country and may never be considered as a 1st world country because

of its isolation and its lack of marketable resources. It does have a strong tourist industry,

however the high transportation cost deliver goods and resources will always be a burden to its

people and the country. Although the country has a stable predictable government the lack of

diversity in the economy and the dependence on the economies of the world make the island

susceptible to any changes in the world economy.

The strengths of Samoa

Samoa’s main strength can also be considered it weaknesses. As an island country

the isolation insures that it is an Island paradise, but also insures that development would

be difficult to complete. It has a democratic government, low unemployment (5%) and low

crime, which is important for any country. At 99.7% it high literacy rate demonstrates an

educated population that can assist in any challenge the country may encounter and it long

life expectancy must mean adequate health care and a healthy environment to live in with

few negative issues that may shorten the citizens lives.

The weaknesses of Samoa

Samoa’ is a beautiful country and what I see as weaknesses may in the long run

preserve the Island and its character. As an island country the isolation insures that it is an

Island paradise, but also insures that development would be difficult to complete. The lack

of energy and the inability to expand energy consumption, hinders technology and growth.

The transportation cost limits tourism, and the imports and exports. Another issue facing

Samoa is its susceptibility to natural disasters. Samoa is frequently hit by tropical storms which

result in considerable devastation. Much of the islands infrastructure to include homes,

businesses, hotels, tourism sites, and transportation as well as agriculture is damaged from each

storm that hits. For this reason it is not profitable for businesses and people to invest in building

'nice' buildings because they know that it will eventually be demolished or damaged. Samoa has

also faced the destructive power of tsunamis in the recent past. These have also been a source of

much destruction and loss of life. For these reasons it seems that the government and people are

constantly rebuilding. Unfortunately this process takes longer than normal because they need to

ship out all of the supplies that are not native to Samoa. For this reason, few businesses would be

interested in creating a factory in Samoa, which adversely affects the economic status of Samoa.

Samoa is also a very small collection of islands with very little land mass. Due to the

paucity of usable land in Samoa there is very limited land available for use in agriculture or the

building of factories. Were there large factories in Samoa there would be very few people to

work in the factories due to the small population of the islands. Although plants grow readily in

this land of rain and sunshine close to the equator, there are no large plots of land available for

farming on a large scale. Land is a very limited resource and essentially all usable land is already

in use. The small size of the Samoan islands limits the amount of land that can be used to

increase the economic productivity of that country.

What Resources does Samoa have available.

Samoa’s main resources are the land and the people. The land provides natural

resources, which both benefit the people and provide economic activities. Samoa is known

for its gorgeous beaches, beautiful landscape and cultural customs which should make it a hit on

the tourist market. Unfortunately due to Samoa's remote location, the cost of flying to Samoa is

practically prohibitive for all but the wealthiest tourists. The cost of a one way ticket to Samoa

with two stops costs around one thousand dollars more than a non-stop flight to Hawaii1. Most of

the visitors to Samoa are not tourists but family members returning to their native land to visit

family and renew their ties with their home country. Flights in and out of Samoa are infrequent

and expensive which limit the numbers of people who visit. Because of the limited number of

tourists there are few hotels and resultant tourist attractions. If flights were less expensive and

more frequent than Samoa would be a great travel destination which would create more jobs for

the Samoan people and boost their economy.

Samoans rely profoundly on the fishing industry. Although fish is the primary export

product of Samoa, most of the fish that Samoans catch they eat themselves or sell to the local

markets2. Tuna is the primary fish caught and sold by the Samoan people. Unfortunately when

the tuna migrate too far away from the Samoan islands, it can be devastating due to decrease in

food available to the people and due to a decrease in their ability to earn money. This situation

puts the Samoan people in a state of dependence on the number and location of local fish

populations as well as the health of the ocean.

How to improve life in Samoa

Despite the inherent economic challenges facing the people of Samoa some changes

could be made to improve their standard of living. The key will be the embracing of new

technology that will allow for green growth. This could be achieved by focusing on energy

production, promoting tourism and improving education.

Energy production is a crucial to decreasing expenses and increasing the standard of

living through application of technology. This will assist their main sources of income. Whether

it is farming, fishing or tourism increase cheaper production of energy would greatly assist

Samoa and assist in the retention of the valuable culture that the tourist want to view and

experience. I propose that Samoa install and become a leader in using energy producing roads.

These roads not only produce solar energy it also provides lighting. I believe the green energy

produced utilizes the abundance of sunlight creating low cost energy that can save money for all

the people of Samoa, while freeing up capital so that it can be reinvested in the tourist economy

and expanding those industries that will flourish in a high tech investment that would thrive in

such a wonderful place to live.

FIG 3

Additionally I propose the installation and development of improving the educational

level of Samoan's could directly benefit their economy. If Samoan's receive a better education

then they would be able to get better paying jobs, and utilize the technology that will naturally

come from a stable and cheap energy source. This energy producing roads can also help carry

internet and communication systems, that will be more resistance to natural disasters that

telephone pole’s above ground. This new technology will demand increase technical knowledge

that could trickle into other industries and skills. Specific training in computer and internet

based technology or customer service could be handled over the phone or internet would

eliminate their geographic isolation. Samoa's location on the other side of the International Date

Line would also allow them to work during the day while providing services to Americans at

night. This will bring more money into their country and boost their economy. If they learn to

become more 'computer savvy', then they will be able to make money even though they live in

the middle of nowhere.

Finally, another way to improve the life of the islanders would be to make airplane flights

cheaper so that more tourists could visit Samoa. These tropical islands have many beautiful,

exotic beaches and an abundance of natural beauty but few can afford a trip to Samoa. Currently

only one airline flies to Samoa, but if more airlines could be enticed to fly here this would

eliminate the current monopoly and would introduce competition for the price of fares,

drastically reducing the cost of travel. This increase in the number of tourists would increase the

number of hotels, restaurants and other aspects of the tourist industry. This influx of tourists

would greatly benefit Samoa's economy.

The increase of people and trade for Samoa could only be done by also increasing the use

of green technology. If you expand the tourist trade without green technology, you risk changing

the nature of Samoa, by increasing its use and abuse without addressing the impact of more

people. I believe that energy producing roads is an answer for producing cheap energy and

shifting capital from energy will assist in eth smart growth of Samoa. Increasing the energy

producing infrastructure and the technical education of Samoans and making Samoa a place for

tourists to visit will improve the standard of living and quality of life of the Samoan people.

Conclusion

Samoa is a stable country with a wonderful people. The isolation of the country has

added to its culture and history, making it a generally safe and wonderful place to live. Samoa is

a small island with minimal natural resources. These geographic and geologic limitations are

fixed and cannot be overcome. These challenges make it difficult to stimulate the economy in

Samoa to improve the quality of life of the Samoan people. Its location in the South Pacific

Ocean, adds to its beauty but it does limit economic growth. Green energy production would

greatly assist a steady predictable and plan economic growth. Although change will come to this

island nation, it is my hope that it can be done with forethought and respect for the history and

culture of the island. I also my hope that any development takes into account the uniqueness of

island ecosystems and try to retain as much of the environment that makes Samoa such a

wonderful place to live.

Fisheries plundered off the Pacific IslandsTue, 05/27/2014 - 8:54am |

By Sarina Locke, Radio AustraliaTwo-thirds of the Pacific Islands communities could run out of fish to

feed their populations within 15 years. The concern is over both inshore and deep ocean fisheries that are not sustainable. The warning comes as the Pacific Islands prepare to talk tuna fisheries management in Samoa in early July. Dr Quentin Hanich, fisheries governance program leader at the Australian National Centre for Ocean Resources and Security, says 60 per cent of the world's tuna comes from the Pacific, and there are big boats with large capacity to remove stocks.

The tuna species are albacore, skipjack, big eye and yellow fin. "Some of the world's biggest fishing boats from Spain, 500 feet long, for example, will fish for those tuna. "When you manage that fishery you need to make it sustainable, but then you've also got to start prioritising where you want to feed. "If you need to worry about food security for a small island country that doesn't have many other opportunities, you need to prioritise what you're going to feed them, whereas perhaps it's not quite so important to get fish onto the market of a Los Angeles restaurant if they can also eat cattle or sheep." Dr Hanich says Australians should look for sustainably caught tuna to help the Islanders. "Skipjack tuna that comes to you in a can, that's fine. "You should eat that, it's healthy and some money goes back to the Pacific Islander community." But he warns people should check the tuna fishing technique doesn't catch too many sharks, or too many juvenile fish. Gleaning for fish An age-old practice in the Pacific Islands is gleaning, but it's become unsustainable because of population growth. "You'll be sitting on a beach somewhere and all the kids and women come out and glean; which is basically sitting on the sand with a teaspoon and maybe some Tupperware and collecting shells out of the sand, making a soup out of that," Dr Hanich said. "Netting is popular and also traps. In Kiribati, you'll see complex coral rock traps that will herd the fish in at high tide and then at low tide, they'll go in and get them." He says small boats now have outboard motors that can enable local fishermen to exploit stocks further out.

He's also concerned about shore fisheries like snapper. Traditionally that was sustainable, but now that commercial Asian markets have been developed, this long-lived species is not coping. "Lack of management combined with overpopulation is creating some serious challenges. "In some countries, we can see opportunities where we can see them move into oceanic tuna fisheries." But Dr Hanich says that has to be well managed. Kiribati, Solomons and Vanuatu project Fisheries research Dr Quentin Hanich works on an Australian aid program through ACIAR of $3.7 million to help Pacific Islanders manage their fish stocks better as they face challenges like population pressure, climate change and foreign fishing boats. The Secretariat of the Pacific Community has estimated that '75 per cent of the Pacific Island coastal fisheries will not meet food security needs by 2030 because of population growth, overfishing and inadequate national

distribution networks'. Over the time that he's been working in Kiribati, Dr Danich has noticed big projects don't work as well as small community-based projects.

http://www.samoanews.com/content/en/fisheries-plundered-pacific-islands#sthash.9wdrf02J.dpuf

ARTICLE REFLECTION

The main source of protein for the Samoa people is Sea food. A reduce supply of seafood

will severely impact the Samoan people. The future of their fisheries depends on the country

managing their stocks and restricting fishing to others so that they can preserve not only their

food, but their culture and there way of life.

Of importance outside Polynesia is the issue that this is the area of the world in which

Tuna and other fish are supplied. At the pace of consumption the fisheries will be exhausted in

the next 15 years. The issue of depleted fishing stocks will severely harm Samoa, its

surrounding island but also the world.

Political Map of Samoa

Physical Map of Samoa

Standard of living fa ctors for Samoa (4 CIA)Country SAMOA ____________________________ Type of Government Democracy

Population Density 2,821 sq km /sq. km (total population divided by total square kilometers)

Education: Literacy rate 98.8%

School Life Expectancy 73 years

Education Spending as a % of GDP 6% of GDP

Health Care: Life Expectancy _ 73 years Infant Mortality Rate 100 deaths/100,000

live births  

Health Care Spending as a % of GDP 7% of GDP (Obesity 54.1% (2008))

Population below the Poverty Line 15%

Total Population 196,628

Unemployment Rate 13%

Inflation Rate 2.7% (2013 est.)

Labor Force - by Occupation:

Agriculture 65 % Industry 4 % Service 30 % Government 1%

Agricultural Products coconuts, bananas, taro, yams, coffee, cocoa

Industries food processing, building materials, auto parts

Export Commodities fish, coconut oil and cream, copra, taro, automotive parts,

garments, beer

Total Exports $11.4 million

Import Commodities machinery and equipment, industrial supplies, foodstuffs

Total Imports $318.7 million

Trade Partners NZ 19.2%, Singapore 18.6%, Fiji 17.6%, China 15.8%, Australia 5.9%,

US 5.4% (2012)

Outlook Observers point to the flexibility of the labor market as a basic strength for future economic advances. Foreign reserves are in a relatively healthy state, the external debt is stable, and inflation is low.Natural Resources hardwood forests, fish, hydropower

Communications:Main Line Telephones 35,300 Cellular 167,400 Internet Users 9,000 Users

There are adequate phone lines with a combined fixed-line and mobile-cellular teledensity

roughly 100 telephones per 100 persons .

Transportation:# of Airports 4 Airports Paved 332 km Railways 0 km Roadways 2,337 km

Military Expenditures $ 0% of GDP There is no data

References

Fig 1- Wikipedia.com., May27, 14. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samoa>

Fig 2- marketoracle.co.uk., May27,14<http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article16695.html>

Fig 3- indiegogo.com., May27,14, <www.indiegogo.com/projects/solar-roadways>

1. Travelocity. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Jan. 2013. <http://www.travelocity.com/>.

2. "National Fishery." National Fishery Sector Overview (2009): n. pag. Print.

3. CIA.gov., May 27,14. < https://www.cia.gov/>