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STORY: This traditional Polynesian canoe, known as a Gaualofa, is one of only seven of its kind in the world.

:: Apia, Samoa

Sailing it off the coast of Apia, Samoa, Leota Fitimaula Donna Aiono Le Tagaloa-Ioane is reviving and adapting her seafaring heritage to navigate the impacts of climate change.

[Leota Fitimaula Donna Aiono Le Tagaloa-Ioane, President of the Samoan Voyaging Society]

“To go back to beaches and places where you've been, and then to see the beaches gone. You know, it's completely gone because of the wave action and the rise in sea levels. We're seeing it all around us. And I think, to be resilient, to learn how to adapt, that's always been part of who we are as people."

A World Meteorological Organization report earlier this year found that ocean temperatures in the South West Pacific are increasing at up to three times the rate worldwide.

And sea level rise in the region is outstripping the global average.

Aiono Le Tagaloa-Ioane teaches a workshop aboard, passing on knowledge of her Samoan maritime legacy in a bid to mitigate the changing seascape.

"It has an impact on the students who are so used to being in a classroom, and then all of a sudden they're out there for a week or so in the elements, seeing the coral, snorkelling, you know, planting seedlings in the mangroves, cleaning up trash and everything. So in that way, we hope to improve an awareness around the island of being keepers and custodians of not only the land, but especially the ocean.”

Samoa has a population of about 218,000.

This week, it will be the first Pacific small island state to host the annual Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), putting the spotlight on climate change.

More than half of the Commonwealth's members are small states, many of them island nations facing the threat of rising sea levels caused by climate change.

The leaders are expected to make a declaration on protecting the ocean, with climate change a key topic for discussion.