American Samoa’s Coral Reef Initiative is a multifaceted approach to preserve and protect the 296 square kilometers of coral reefs that ring the five small islands and two atolls of this United States territory. The coral reefs and near-shore fisheries are important to the Samoan culture and food supply. They also provide a bulwark against beach erosion.

A steep increase in population on the small islands has led to poor residential construction and farming practices that allow materials such as wastes and toxins to enter the near-shore environment and degrade the water quality.

The initiative acts as a clearinghouse to coordinate the islands’ coral reef management efforts, facilitate scientific studies and monitoring, provide education to improve residents’ understanding and stewardship of the ecosystem, and design strategies to reduce threats to the environment.

As a regional member of the U.S. Coral Reef Initiative, the Samoan effort is eligible for federal funding for monitoring and research.

Recently, the Initiative led a participatory process to identify specific threats to the coral reefs and is currently working to implement strategies to mitigate these threats.

• Complexity: Recognition of a range of stressors, including those typically thought of as being outside of the marine environment, such as population pressure.
• Collaboration: Emphasis on building partnerships with other agencies and residents of the islands.
• Adaptive Management: Emphasis on communicating research findings with residents of the islands so that scientists, resource managers and islanders learn together about the ecosystem.

Mission

American Samoa’s Coral Reef Initiative has a mission of conserving and protecting the territory’s coral reefs.

Objectives

The Initiative has identified the following four key objectives:

Population Pressures

• Balance population growth with available human and natural resources to create a high quality of life.
• Assist the Population Implementation Committee in creating policies, programs, and incentives to reduce the harmful environmental effects of overpopulation.

Land-Based Sources of Pollution

• Protect American Samoa’s coral reefs from land-based sources of pollution due to ineffective land and waste management.
• Implement the American Samoa Non-Point Source Pollution Plan.

Fisheries Management

• Restore fish stocks and other exploited biota that are commercially, ecologically, and culturally important to the American Samoan way of life.
• Prevent non-sustainable harvesting methods.

Local Response to Climate Change

• Sustain coral reef ecosystems and build socio-economic conditions that are resilient to climate change.
• Promote American Samoa as a national field site for studying climate change.

Lead Organizations

• American Samoa Department of Commerce and Department of Marine and Wildlife Resources
• American Samoa Environmental Protection Agency
• National Park of American Samoa
• American Samoa Community College

Key Parties

Federal Partners

• Fagatele Bay National Marine Sanctuary
• National Marine Protected Areas Center
• National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Coral Reef Conservation Program
• U.S. Coral Reef Task Force Regional Partners
• U.S. All Islands Coral Reef Committee
• Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environmental Programme
• Secretariat of the Pacific Community

American Samoa’s Coral Reef Initiative is administered by the Governor’s Coral Reef Advisory Group (CRAG), an inter-agency task force established to provide the government of American Samoa with advice, guidance and project management regarding coral reef issues.

The five lead agencies involved in CRAG – American Samoa Department of Commerce and Department of Marine and Wildlife Resources, American Samoa Environmental Protection Agency, American Samoa Community College, and National Park of American Samoa – work together by mutual consensus to plan and implement strategies to address the health of the coral reefs.

Additionally, because each agency’s authorities relate to the ecology of the area, each agency is responsible, within its existing jurisdiction, for carrying out four directives: enhancing the quality of marine habitats, regulating activities on coral reefs, promoting environmental awareness, and facilitating research into various aspects of coral reef science.

CRAG is housed at the American Samoa Department of Commerce.

Protection of the islands’ coral reefs has been identified as a priority of the government of American Samoa for many years. The American Samoa Coral Reef Initiative builds on previous efforts but views protective measures in a broader context.

Previous efforts managed the coral reef in isolation from the surrounding ecosystem and island communities. In 1986, a one-quarter square-mile coral reef ecosystem contained in an eroded volcanic crater was designated as the Fagatele Bay National Marine Sanctuary at the request of the government of American Samoa. Located on the southwest side of the island of Tutuila, Fagatele Bay is the smallest of the sanctuaries in the National Marine Sanctuary Program. Regulations forbid damaging or removing coral, and outlaw harmful fishing practices by forbidding the possession of spearguns and types of nets within its boundaries.

Two years later, the National Park of American Samoa was authorized by Congress. Encompassing natural areas on three islands and extending into the near-shore environment, the park is meant to preserve and protect tropical rain forest and archeological and cultural resources of American Samoa, including coral reefs. Although traditional Samoan customs are allowed within the park, they must be carried out with traditional tools and methods, and must be limited in scope and location. The park set a precedent for cooperative relationships with villagers; National Park Service staff worked with village leaders to clarify and reach agreement on the rules.

The Ecosystem

American Samoa, a territory of the United States, consists of five rugged volcanic islands and two coral atolls. The islands are small (Tutuila, the largest island, is 138 square kilometers). The reefs provide habitat for more than 50 percent of the fish caught by islanders for food. Surgeonfish and parrotfish are the most common fish found in the coral reef habitat, followed by damselfish and fusiliers.

Threats

The coral reefs of American Samoa have been notably resilient in the face of a range of natural disturbances. The reefs experienced mass coral bleaching events in 1994, 2002, and 2003. Hurricanes negatively impacted the reefs in 1986, 1990, 1991, 2004 and 2005. And yet, the reefs have made a slow but steady recovery.

About 61,500 full-time residents live in American Samoa, according to a 2000 study by the working group of American Samoa’s Coral Reef Initiative. That number represented a 35 percent increase in population in only 10 years. The coral reef initiative identified population growth as the greatest stressor to the health of the coral. The islands’ authorities have concluded that rate of population growth is unsustainable for other reasons as well. Drinking water supplies, for instance, will not meet projected demands. Continuing increases in population would lead to the building of more roads, and greater shoreline development, a factor which will be detailed below. More impervious surfaces would be laid down. Fisheries would come under greater stress.

Existing development patterns already threaten the health of the coral reefs. Much of the area of the islands is not suitable for development. On Tutuila, only 30 percent of the island has a slope of less than 30 percent. Most development occurs clustered close to the shore. Parts of the island are as dense as the largest American cities. Several hundred land-use permits are received annually, most of which are approved with conditions. Inadequate construction or disregard for pollution laws allows harmful substances, sediments and nutrients to enter streams and then the near-shore environment.

Other threats to the coral stem from overfishing and climate change. Despite fisheries regulations, overfishing has limited populations of most of the large predators, negatively affecting the ecosystem. Rising sea levels will greatly affect the shallow water environments of many of the coral reefs, and increasing sea temperatures could lead to greater outbreaks of disease.

Piggery Compliance Program

The Piggery Compliance Program is a centerpiece of the American Samoa Non-Point Source Pollution Plan, which is led by one of the Coral Reef Advisory Group’s key members, the American Samoa Environmental Protection Agency. A survey conducted for the CRAG showed 97 percent of the islands’ piggeries were non-compliant with environmental and health laws and 82 percent discharged waste directly into streams, which then fouled the water quality of the near-shore environment. Using GPS, piggeries and their discharge points were located. Baseline data was collected. Then, the information was brought to the attention of piggery managers and owners, and warnings were given. A public awareness campaign was run with television, newspaper and radio advertisements. Finally, compliance inspections were conducted to bring remaining violators into line. Today, outreach and inspections continue.

Education and Outreach

Public awareness campaigns are highlighting the impacts on the coral reef environment by the everyday actions of residents of the islands. One focus of the effort is to communicate to village leaders and residents the impact of destructive fishing practices on the coral reefs and the sustainability of the fisheries. Other efforts attempt to align residents’ beliefs with scientific findings to increase their awareness of the health of the ecosystem.

The program includes visits by an education and outreach coordinator to schools, and provides small grants to teachers for the materials and supplies necessary to carry out coral reef lessons and projects. A monthly newsletter is published in the Samoa News, drawing attention to ongoing coral reef issues to better inform the public of actions they can take to improve management and conservation activities.

Population Pressure Task Force

The Coral Reef Advisory Group is spearheading a Population Pressure Task Force, which is creating a strategy to engage the community in a concerted campaign to reduce the pressures that result from rapid population growth. A population summit with local leaders and media was held to distribute information on birth rates and in-migration, and spark discussion on policies and outreach efforts needed to control population growth.

Marine Protected Areas

The initiative supports the creation of a Marine Protected Area (MPA) network. In 1997, it released a MPA Network strategy document to identify a course of action and public engagement for designing a network of MPAs that would encompass 20 percent of the islands’ coral reef ecosystems, and how such a network would be implemented. Several small MPAs exist, encompassing 173 square kilometers. However, only the largest, Rose Atoll, at 158 square kilometers, is considered a no-take reserve, generally off-limits to fishing. The Marine Protected Area Program is working with two villages in Tutuila to foster mutual understanding about the proposals, using GIS to map habitats, and using a community survey to gather data on fishing practices. Planning for the creation of the MPA network is ongoing.

Monitoring

While the health of coral reefs and water quality has been monitored for some time in American Samoa, the data suffered from the lack of a comprehensive effort. A Coral Reef Monitoring Plan began in 2005 to collect data, and identify baseline information and trends. Monitoring has been conducted at 11 sites on the islands of Aunu’u and Tutuila. The program is continuing to seek money and partners to expand its scope.

Government Accountability

Interagency management efforts are more clearly defined through the development of Local Area Strategies. The Coral Reef Advisory Group created living documents that include steps to address each threat – population pressure, land-based sources of pollution, fisheries management and climate change. CRAG believes many of the threats can be minimized or eliminated with better public and governmental understanding, as well as increased transparency and coordination among CRAG members.

Increased Ecosystem Understanding

Public understanding of the ecosystem has been strengthened and the conversation about the health of the ecosystem has been broadened to encompass factors such as the population boom. More people support restrictions that would benefit the ecosystem, such as the creation of MPAs, according to Coral Reef Advisory Group surveys. In another survey, 80 percent of the household leaders in Amouli believe climate change will affect many sectors, providing resource managers with a starting-point to design future socioeconomic studies and adaptation interventions.

American Samoa’s Coral Reef Initiative: http://www.doc.as/resource-management/resource-management-crag/