ODAPM receives $2+ million to combat climate change

Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — During remarks at the Department of the Interior’s Territorial Climate and Infrastructure Workshop in Hawaii last week, Assistant Secretary for International and Insular Affairs Carmen G. Cantor and White House Council on Environmental Quality Chair Brenda Mallory announced $12 million in key investments from the Inflation Reduction Act for climate change planning, mitigation, adaptation and resilience for the U.S. Territories of American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

For American Samoa, $2,800,000 has been awarded to the American Samoa Office of Disaster Assistance and Petroleum Management (ODAPM) for efforts to collect and update data on sea level rise to ensure that it is the most current and accurate for all seven islands of American Samoa.

Data collected through this project will be included in the National Geodetic Survey’s Sea Level Viewer Tool, updating vertical data for Tutuila and the Manua Islands. Funds will also support community outreach, development of mitigation strategies, and creation of a manual on best management practices for shoreline protection.

Specifically, funds will also support implementation of recommendations in the Faga’alu Watershed Plan, identified by the U.S. Coral Reef Task Force as a priority watershed. These efforts will improve water quality, reduce risks of flooding, and increase resilience to a changing climate.

BACKGROUND

The Territorial Climate and Infrastructure Workshop convened local, federal and territorial representatives to discuss how the President’s Investing in America agenda is providing once-in-a-generation climate and infrastructure resources to the U.S. territories, including investments in ecosystem restoration and climate resilience.

“The Investing in America agenda presents an important opportunity for the territories in their efforts to plan for, mitigate the effects of, and build resiliency against climate change,” said Assistant Secretary for Insular and International Affairs Carmen G. Cantor. “These investments will support our work to foster stable and sustainable island communities, as we partner with territorial governments to build climate resilient communities.”