ANU researchers have collaborated with CSIRO to develop a tool that will support Samoan leaders in fine-tuning their response to climate change. 

Launched in November 2024, the Agrifood Systems Climate Explorer (ASCE) gives local decision makers an accessible tool that provides fine-grained detail on precisely which climate impacts their food systems will face. 

The tool presents climate risk data in an interactive visualisation overlayed over a map of Samoa, showing data at the district level. It also displays data relevant to the risk profile of each area, such as the types of crops grown in the area. With much of planning and decision-making happening at the district level, it allows for local leaders to plan how they will minimise risk and maximise protective factors based on the unique features of their district.

“The catalyst for this project stems from our efforts to move away from focussing exclusively on climate change projections to looking at aggregated indicators of risk or sensitivity. By showing how the presence or absence of water storage infrastructure or the reliance of agriculture for household income we can start to show why some regions are more sensitive than other to climate change and what policy makers can address to lower exposure to climate change,” explained Dr Steven Crimp, ANU Project Co-coordinator and ICEDS Deputy Head of Climate. 

The project was developed in collaboration with CSIRO and Samoa’s Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries after Samoa agreed to work with the project team to implement the project. The research team led a collaborative process to design a tool that reflects local context and priorities and aligns with the available statistics from Samoa. They identified heat stress, drought, wet season rainfall and wet season onset as the most important risks facing Samoa. The modelling around these risks was presented at the district level, alongside statistical information on factors that might protect against or exacerbate those risks. 

“The Samona Government is currently developing a national drought strategy and so we developed indicators that would have direct relevance, and highlight areas  predisposed to drought risk because of age, water infrastructure and other indictors This approach allows a user to determine which areas are more sensitivity to changes in drought and the prevailing reasons for this sensitivity,” said Steven. 

After receiving positive feedback from the Samoan Government and its agencies, the project will be presented to the Pacific Week of Agriculture and Forestry in Tonga in May 2025. 

“It’s my hope is that there is broad support from more countries to partner with our team to scale this process out across the Pacific,” added Steven. 

He noted that besides the tool itself, the consultation process in and of itself was helpful to Samoan planners responding to climate change. The process and learnings from this project have laid the groundwork for easy adaptation by other Pacific states. 

The project was developed with support from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the Pacific Community, and the Food and Agriculture Organization following a request from the Pacific Heads of Agriculture and Forestry 2022 meeting.