Villages that participate in the Save the Manumea campaign run by the Samoa Conservation Society appreciate the messages and are enforcing bans on hunting pigeons.

That is the view of the S.C.S. Manumea Project Coordinator Moeumu Uili in an interview with the Samoa Observer on Monday, when confirming that there is increasing engagement and interest from the villages.

"With the ongoing community awareness we have had with our M.F.V. [Manumea friendly village] so far there is observed change with our community appreciating our message and improved participation to implement and enforce ban on hunting pigeons as well as restoring native forest," she said in an interview.

The Save the Manumea campaign was launched in Apia in July 2019 by New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Fiame Naomi Mata’afa, who was then the Minister of Natural Resources and Environment in the previous Administration.

The campaign was launched at the New Zealand High Commission office on Beach Road and is designed to raise awareness and help Samoan communities work together to save the national bird. The bird is threatened by loss of natural habitat and hunting and according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is listed as critically endangered.

Funding of WST$160,000 was awarded by the New Zealand Government to the non-government organisation, with the S.C.S. President James Atherton indicating that the funding ensures that key stages of the Manumea recovery plan are implemented, especially the conservation component.

"The plan is due for review in 2024-2025 or sooner if new information signals the need for a change in approach so we are running our activities up to 2023," Mr. Atherton said. 

As part of the awareness funded under the project, he indicated that more murals will be painted.

"Under this contract, the following services will be provided by the Samoa Conservation Society and one of the activities is to get three Manumea murals painted,” he said.

"Jane Va'afusuaga and Olsen coordinated two murals plus coordinated wrapping of six buses.”

Ms. Va'afusuaga told the Samoa Observer that she and her husband have been working with the S.C.S. on the buses being painted.

"My husband Tui and I have been working with S.C.S. on awareness activities for the Save the Manumea project and one of those activities has been getting buses painted with the Save the Manumea message," she said.

"We currently have had four buses painted in Savai’i and two in Upolu with others in the pipeline. The Upolu buses belong to Sunrise Transport.

"Togisau, the owner of Sunrise Transport has a fleet of about 14 buses which are all painted with environmental messages - including two other Manumea buses, the ocean, the forest, turtles and so forth.”

According to Ms. Va'afusuaga, the Sunrise Transport owner has been supportive of the environmental messages which are a common feature of his buses.