The rehabilitation and restoration of disturbed lands, coastal landscapes and ecosystems through the native seed strategy is the core of this project

The Department of the Interior's Office of Insular Affairs awarded a $850,000 Project Grant under the Economic, Social, and Political Development of the Territories program (CFDA 15.875) to the American Samoa Government Department of Commerce to rehabilitate and restore disturbed lands, coastal landscapes, and ecosystems through a native seed propagation and reforestation strategy. The core objective of this project is to address environmental and climate threats that have led to land disturbances, coastal erosion, and biodiversity loss in American Samoa. Through this grant, the department will propagate and distribute native seeds and seedlings to reforest and revegetate endangered lands and coastal areas impacted by deforestation, mining, and infrastructure development. This effort aims to safeguard the land, coastal communities, and ecosystems, while mitigating environmental hazards and degradation from climate change impacts. The project began on January 7, 2025 and is scheduled for completion by September 30, 2029.

Inevitable factors related to environmental and climate threats play a pivotal role on land disturbances, erosion of coastal landscapes, and the endangerment of the biodiversity and ecosystem in american samoa. These are the existential threatening realities which legitimately threaten the village communities life and lifeway today. These are very damaging to the humans and bioecosystem, and IT is time to address these through the naturebased practice of native seed propagation and restoration by way of reforestation and or revegetation. In this nssrehabilitation and restoration project, the sole purpose is to propagate native seed and seedlings with the aim of reforesting and revegetating native trees, plants and shrubs on endangered lands and coastal minedlandscape. This is vitally significant for safeguarding and conserving land, coastal communities and ecosystem, mitigating environmental hazards and degradation due to climate change impacts and human exploitation. One of the central root causes of massive land and coastal damages is basically due to human maldevelopments such as deforestation, sand and coral mining, and occasionally, by the governments infrastructural developments for building and road construction purposes. Though these resources are prohibited under the american samoa government public policies and laws, such maldevelopments remain as ongoing practices. The enforcement of public policies and laws is weak, and this gives way to the village people and communities to continue deforestation and mining sand and corals. Land and coastal landscapes are often taken as garbage landfills and constantly being destroyed by erosion through flooding, rising sealevel, high tides, king and tidal waves, severe weather and cyclones. With the depletion of the native forests and vegetation, the coastal communities are vulnerably exposed to every sort of danger such as the infertility and barrenness of land, erosion of coastal areas, disruption of ecosystems and biodiversity, environmental hazards and infrastructural instabilities and damages.native trees and plants are a fortress and stronghold for village communities from strong winds, rising sea level, flooding, and the adverse impacts of climate change. Besides protective measures, the native seed strategy through the reforestation and or revegetation project contributes more on the greening of the environment, thus aid in the curbing of greenhouse emissions which is the root cause of global warming and climate change. The reforestation and or revegetation of native seedlings, trees, shrubs and plants is a naturebased remedy that is essentially needed in this restoration and conservation of nature and its resources. This new revegetating initiative will be carried out in identified coastal landscapes, specifically in the villages of masausi and the district of alataua in the island of tutuila, and faleasao in the island of manua. Collaborations and partnerships with the american samoa governors biodiversity office, ascc land grant, DOC coastal management office, marine and wildlife department, asenvironment protection agency, public works department, and the office of samoan affairs has been solicited to assure smooth progress for two years, and sustained successes, thereafter.