Abstract Summary
The U.S. Territory of American Samoa is located in the Central South Pacific and consists of five high volcanic islands and two atolls, forming the easterly portion of an archipelago shared with independent Samoa. Historically, American Samoa has strong ecological, economical, and cultural reliance on their coral reefs. From a scientific perspective, the corals of American Samoa, particularly those in Ofu (Manu’a Islands), have attracted countless world-renowned scientists for decades due to their high thermal tolerance and low mortality during global bleaching events. In September 2009, the devastating impacts of a tsunami led to the first community-based coral restoration initiatives in Leone Village on Tutuila Island. The aim was to restore 18.3 acres of coastal wetland habitat, which included establishing large coral rope nurseries and smaller cement ‘fales’ on the reef flat. However, ongoing success and expansion of restoration efforts has been challenging in American Samoa. Here, we will present Leone Village as a case study to share our goals, challenges and solutions for future restoration projects from the perspective of a small, developing country with high cultural and traditional values, difficult environmental conditions, and limited capacity and resources. Further, American Samoa hosted the 40th US Coral Reef Task Force (USCRTF) Meeting in August, 2018 where coral restoration and need to upscale efforts was an important focus. The USCRTF Restoration Working Group drew on lessons from U.S. jurisdictions’ restoration initiatives, their failures and successes, overarching needs, and limitations for increasing restoration efforts. The key gaps and needs highlighted by U.S. jurisdictions will also be presented.
