During the 18th meeting of the U.S. Coral Reef Task Force last month, Governor Togiola Tulafono announced that the Territory’s Marine Protected Area (MPA) Network strategy had been finalized and adopted.
The MPA Network Strategy was developed to link American Samoa’s MPA programs and agencies together to be more effective in protecting and managing marine resources, and aims to develop regional partnerships to better protect our coral reef ecosystem.
Just last week, Governor Togiola made good on his promise to put coral reefs on the agenda during his meeting with leaders of Samoa to discuss cross border issues.
Togiola led a local delegation to the Seventh Meeting on Cooperation Issues hosted in Samoa where the subject of coral reefs was raised as a way to foster better regional coordination of coral reef conservation.
“Working together with the government and the people of Independent Samoa, I would like to develop a regional coral reef conservation initiative in order to achieve common goals and address shared concerns,”
Togiola said.
During last week’s meeting, in the presence of Samoa’s government leaders including Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi, American Samoa’s proposal that an annual meeting between environment authorities from both sides take place to look at issues like coral reef conservation, the MPA network, and fisheries was embraced by the group from Samoa.
As a matter of fact, Samoa expressed an interest in learning from American Samoa’s experience and knowledge gained from the USCRTF, the Coastal Management Program, and the National Park.
In the same token, American Samoa expressed an interest that Samoa join in the regional MPA approach, developing uniform regulations governing the protection of certain fish species.
At the end of the day, both sides agreed to hold annual environmental meetings to discuss just that.
The goal of the MPA Network Strategy is to effectively coordinate existing and future MPAs to ensure the long-term health and sustainable use of American Samoa’s coral reef resources. The strategy works through utilizing each program’s mandates, resources, and funding through enhanced coordination and integration of education, research and monitoring, enforcement, and program administration.
Since the fishes and corals of our territory’s reef ecosystems do not restrict themselves to political borders, Togiola has stated that there is a need to look beyond the borders of American Samoa to truly protect and manage the territory’s marine resources.
Togiola’s efforts to prioritize and emphasize the importance of protecting our coral reef resources garnered a lot of positive feedback and praise from the co-chairs of last month’s USCRTF Meeting who heard of the Administration’s announcement to further the protection of coral reef ecosystems by acting as front-runners in coral reef conservation and management issues.
American Samoa is now working towards its conservation and protection efforts through numerous projects, including plans to clean up land source pollution that affect local coastal waters and coral reefs.
“The ASG is committed to doing its share to address the adverse impacts of global warming and challenges the federal government, the public sector, and regional jurisdictions to join the fight,” Togiola said in his speech at the USCRTF Meeting.
To promote awareness, Togiola has proposed that a Pacific-wide traditional song and dance competition focusing on coral reef conservation and traditional uses of coral reefs throughout the Pacific be conducted during the 10th Pacific Arts Festival, which will be hosted locally next year.
This is in light of the fact that 2008 is also the International Year of the Reef.
“As we look to the future, the local action strategies that guide our coral reef conservation and management efforts will be further developed and refined to meet the growing needs of our islands,” said the Governor. |
