Samoan tropical moist forests

File:View Falealupo rainforest, Savai'i.JPG

Low-lying rainforest on Savai'i.

The Samoan tropical moist forests are a tropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion in the Samoan Islands. They cover an area of 3,100 km² (1,200 sq mi).

The Central Savai'i Rainforest, comprising an area of 72,699 hectares on the island of Savai'i in the Samoan Islands, is the largest continuous patch of rainforest in Polynesia. The area contains more than 100 volcanic craters including recent lava flows. There are three broad types of rainforests, the most extensive is lowland forest, followed by montane and cloud forest. The rainforest spans the inland region of the island and contains most of Samoa's endemic native species, many of which are threatened or near extinction.

These include the rare and unusual tooth-billed pigeon (Didinculus strigirostris) known locally as manumea, the national bird of Samoa and other birds such as the maomao honeyeater (Gymnomyza samoensis). The Samoan white-eye (Zosterops samoensis) and Samoan moorhen (Gallinula pacifica) are both endemic to Savai'i. The Samoan moorhen was last recorded in 1873 with possible sightings in 1984 at the upland forests and at Mount Silisili in 2003.

In 1994, Samoa ratified the international and legally binding treaty, the Convention on Biological Diversity to develop national strategies for conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity. In 2010, protected areas in the country cover 5% of land.

Approximately 30% of Samoa's biodiversity is endemic, found only in Samoa, with new species still being discovered including two new butterflies in 2009 and freshwater fish new to science. The country has more native species of ferns and butterflies than New Zealand, a country 85 times larger.

Most of Samoa's land is under customary ownership, about 81%, which is governed at the local level by matai, the chiefly heads of families. Conservation projects therefore take place in partnership with matai, such as the lowland rainforest preserve in Falealupo village, at the western tip of Savai'i and Tafua village on the south east coast.

Gallery

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  NASA satellite photo of Savai'i island.

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  View across the top of low-lying rainforest in Falealupo.

• Hypolimnas bolina in Japan.jpg

  Hypolimnas bolina butterfly.

• Canopy Falealupo Rainforest, Savaii.JPG

  Forest canopy in Falealupo.

See also

• List of protected areas of Samoa
• List of birds of Samoa
• Samoan plant names, includes many plants used in traditional Samoan medicine.
• List of mammals of Samoa

References

Oceania Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests
Carolines tropical moist forests	Federated States of Micronesia
Central Polynesian tropical moist forests	Cook Islands, Johnston Atoll, Kiribati, Palmyra Atoll
Cook Islands tropical moist forests	Cook Islands
Eastern Micronesia tropical moist forests	Marshall Islands, Nauru, Kiribati, Wake Island
Fiji tropical moist forests	Fiji
Hawaiian tropical rainforests	Hawaii
Kermadec Islands subtropical moist forests	New Zealand
Marquesas tropical moist forests	French Polynesia
Ogasawara subtropical moist forests	Bonin Islands (Japan)
Palau tropical moist forests	Palau
Rapa Nui and Sala-y-Gomez subtropical broadleaf forests	Easter Island (Chile)
Samoan tropical moist forests	American Samoa, Western Samoa
Society Islands tropical moist forests	French Polynesia
Tongan tropical moist forests	Tonga
Tuamotu tropical moist forests	French Polynesia
Tubuai tropical moist forests	French Polynesia
Western Polynesian tropical moist forests	Kiribati, Tokelau, Tuvalu

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