By Tupuola Terry Tavita

Drought and scarcity of water in the country is inevitable, says Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi.

“It’s a given that populations – both in Samoa and the wider globe – will continue to increase. More people means more demand on the land and its resources.

“The continued effects of climate change will bring about more droughts in the future. Our climate change adaptation and mitigation programme is just remedial work to slow down the impact of a changing climate.

“We have implemented programmes to protect water catchment areas and replant crucial waterways. But more people means more land will be cleared in the future.

“We do have a family planning programme but our populations will continue to increase. We are very thankful to New Zealand and Australia which has allowed us to offload our population to and keep our increasing numbers at a manageable level.

“But the world is busting at the seams with soaring number of people and limited resources. For instance, when Jesus was born, the world population was only 200 million. Some 2000 years later, it’s now at 8 billion with tens of billions more who have come and gone since the time of Jesus.

Samoa is going through a pro-longed dry season with some areas now receiving rationed water supplies. Low-lying Tuvalu and Tokelau – since last Monday – have run out of fresh water and are relying on imported bottled water shipped from New Zealand.

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Palemia Ugapo

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