Adapting to climate change and working to mitigate its effects in Am Samoa

Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — Lt. Gov. Talauega Eleasalo V. Ale has been appointed chairman of the American Samoa Resilience Commission (ASRC) during an opening ceremony last week Tuesday at the Veterans Affairs Office in Tafuna with the commission’s first meeting set for Mar. 16, according to a news release from the Governor’s Office on Wednesday afternoon.

The ASRC was created through Gov. Lemanu Peleti Mauga’s Dec. 23, 2021 executive order, which also sets up the Governor’s Resilience Office. The order also identified 23 members — one representing the Chamber of Commerce and the rest are cabinet directors —  of the ASRC.

According to the news release, the ASRC shall establish climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies to help guide Territory-wide planning and implementation. 

They will utilize the latest scientific analysis and risk assessment methods to monitor and forecast climate change-related impacts at the regional and territorial levels, including any additional factors information deemed necessary.

“It is evident that we are living through a global pandemic, however, the effects of climate change remain an immediate threat,” Talauega said in his opening remarks, according to the news release. “Time and tide wait for no man, and we need to take action immediately.”

“The commission includes community leaders and conscious citizens who can make the systemic change that will help not only bring awareness but to build resilience to meet the challenges of protecting and preserving our Territory,” he said. “We have been elected not just to serve as custodians of the present but as caretakers of the future.”

  “This ASRC will be charged in making decisions that future generations deserve and will benefit from,” Talauega declared.

It was also announced during the opening ceremony that the two co-chairs are American Samoa Environmental Protecting Agency director Fa’amao Asalele and Marine and Wildlife Resources Department director Taotasi Archie Soilai.

According to the executive order establishing the ASRC — which is within the Governor’s Office, the chairman may request the participation or input of additional members of the public and private sector, and youth centered organizations; experts in the field; and territorial or local federal officials including the Chief Meteorologist of the National Weather Service in Tafuna; the Superintended of the National Marine Sanctuary of American Samoa; the Superintendent of the American Samoa National Park Service; Natural Resources Conservation Service; and regional officials including such as the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Programme (SPREP), the Pacific Community, Pacific Islands Forum and the Polynesian Leaders Group.