Investor Presentaiton

In addition to the knowledge gained and partnerships developed, the USCRTF provides American Samoa with a voice to engage the wider coral reef community as well as a strategic system to allow for local management of issues albeit within a wider internationally-based system. For example, the implementation of our local action strategies has allowed us to target key threats in a meaningful and deliberate manner. The LAS process helps to streamline priorities and foster collaboration within jurisdictions. However, the LAS approach is also flexible enough for us to address local threats unique to American Samoa as well, such as Population Pressure. Crucial to the LAS is the ideal of 'local' - each territory has its own culture, its own issues, and its own solutions. This inherent flexibility enabled us to host our first ever territorial Population Summit, to engage lawmakers in immigration reform, and to begin educating the public on reproductive health issues. We are the only state or territory in the United States tackling population issues in the context of an environmental framework. But this is but one success story. There are others. However, we have a long way to go. Climate change is not going away. Overharvested fish stocks will not recover in one or two years. Land-based pollution is not going to disappear with the arrival of a new administration. Coral reefs around the world are facing a bleak future, yet I remain eternally hopeful. Through the work of the USCRTF, and its partner agencies and members, we all can tackle these issues if we start now, together, with a common vision. We arrive at this meeting optimistic that the new administration in Washington brings with it a chance for renewed determination, renewed enthusiasm, and, most importantly, a renewed sense of urgency to address the coral crisis facing our people, and our culture. The days of talking about change are over. Much like the annual coral bleaching in American Samoa, change has already arrived. It is here with us now, and it is up to us to respond. It is clear that the USCRTF, along with its partners, must significantly increase our collective effort to address the factors over which we can, and must, exercise control. The USCRTF must take immediate action to respond to these threats and, in turn, seek to sustain our coral reef ecosystems and the communities that depend upon them. Later this afternoon, I will be testifying along with some of my fellow governors at the House Committee Hearing in support of the CRCA reauthorization. As one of the senior governors actively engaged and longest serving on the USCRTF, I am proud of our accomplishments in partnership with the federal government. However, we still have a long way to go and I encourage the new administration to be even more engaged with the implementation of the Local Action Strategies. We need to be able to sustain the momentum to date, and to explore new ways to improve the implementation of our mandate. I welcome the new members of the USCRTIF and I look forward to working with you in the coming months and years ahead.

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