1 00:00:05,105 --> 00:00:17,050 Far out in the South Pacific, there s a tropical island paradise. Lush rainforests 2 00:00:17,150 --> 00:00:24,457 cover steep volcanic peaks, and vibrant coral reefs hug the picture-perfect coastline. 3 00:00:24,557 --> 00:00:30,330 It's a beautiful place. 4 00:00:30,430 --> 00:00:35,902 Known as the Islands of Sacred Earth, the territory of American Samoa is one of 5 00:00:36,002 --> 00:00:43,309 the United States most remote outposts. Samoa s 3,000-year-old culture is thought 6 00:00:43,410 --> 00:00:45,612 to be Polynesia s oldest. 7 00:00:45,712 --> 00:00:53,219 There's a song in American Samoa, they say we are the people from the sun. 8 00:00:53,319 --> 00:01:00,527 People here in American Samoa, they're very good people. Friendly people. 9 00:01:00,627 --> 00:01:03,029 We have such an intact traditional culture here. 10 00:01:03,129 --> 00:01:09,969 Here in the Pacific islands, coral reefs are so integral to the culture. Every facet of 11 00:01:10,070 --> 00:01:14,140 life in a Pacific island is touched by reefs in some way. 12 00:01:14,240 --> 00:01:18,344 The reefs in American Samoa are highly diverse. 13 00:01:18,445 --> 00:01:24,918 We have over 250 known species of coral in the territory. 14 00:01:25,018 --> 00:01:29,923 Some of the largest coral is actually found here, which is something very unique. 15 00:01:30,023 --> 00:01:35,829 While coral reefs around the world are in serious decline, American Samoa s reefs 16 00:01:35,929 --> 00:01:41,434 have so far been relatively resilient in the face of local and global stressors. 17 00:01:41,534 --> 00:01:47,107 It's something that we continuously monitor because that could change at any time. This 18 00:01:47,207 --> 00:01:51,444 is almost like a living classroom that we can come and study and then take that information 19 00:01:51,544 --> 00:01:59,786 somewhere else that maybe is suffering more quickly, so, we can learn a lot from here. 20 00:01:59,886 --> 00:02:04,657 What makes the territory s coral reefs more resilient than others? And how might this 21 00:02:04,757 --> 00:02:31,050 help corals that are in decline elsewhere? 22 00:02:31,151 --> 00:02:36,623 Major funding for this program was provided by The Batchelor Foundation, encouraging people 23 00:02:36,723 --> 00:02:43,596 to preserve and protect America's underwater resources, and by The Arthur Vining Davis 24 00:02:43,696 --> 00:02:50,503 Foundations, strengthening America's future through education. Additional funding was 25 00:02:50,603 --> 00:03:05,285 provided by The William J. & Tina Rosenberg Foundation and by the Do Unto Others Trust. 26 00:03:05,385 --> 00:03:11,191 Located halfway between Hawai i and New Zealand, the U.S. territory of American Samoa 27 00:03:11,291 --> 00:03:20,533 is home to America s only National Marine Sanctuary and National Park south of the equator. 28 00:03:20,633 --> 00:03:27,073 The National Marine Sanctuary of American Samoa is located in the cradle of Polynesia s 29 00:03:27,173 --> 00:03:33,379 oldest culture. It's about five hours south of Hawai i by plane. 30 00:03:33,479 --> 00:03:43,189 And it spans over 13,000 square miles, making it one of the largest as well. 31 00:03:43,289 --> 00:03:49,429 To better understand and protect the sanctuary s spectacular coral reefs, Research Coordinator 32 00:03:49,529 --> 00:03:55,401 Valerie Brown is implementing a monitoring program to document the reefs condition 33 00:03:55,501 --> 00:03:58,838 and any changes that might occur over time. 34 00:03:58,938 --> 00:04:06,746 And to be able to provide a response if we see some sort of acute impact. It's really 35 00:04:06,846 --> 00:04:11,584 important, especially as reefs are changing so quickly, to be able to adaptively manage 36 00:04:11,684 --> 00:04:16,756 the reef ecosystem and protected areas. 37 00:04:16,856 --> 00:04:21,461 Scientists conduct monthly surveys on the reefs in the sanctuary areas around the territory s 38 00:04:21,561 --> 00:04:23,129 main island, Tutuila. 39 00:04:23,229 --> 00:04:32,071 And when we're doing that, we're being pulled behind the boat on towboards. 40 00:04:32,171 --> 00:04:39,379 So we're looking for coral bleaching, coral disease, crown-of-thorns starfish or snail 41 00:04:39,479 --> 00:04:47,620 predation, and marine debris. 42 00:04:47,720 --> 00:04:53,059 Each year, the sanctuary science team also conducts in-depth surveys of the reef along 43 00:04:53,159 --> 00:04:56,562 predetermined transect lines. 44 00:04:56,663 --> 00:05:05,071 Hanae, she's looking at coral species, their size and also their health for each of the 45 00:05:05,171 --> 00:05:10,843 corals within quadrats in each of our transects. While she's doing that, I am taking benthic 46 00:05:10,943 --> 00:05:15,381 quadrat photos. So we are getting photographic documentation of the bottom and then we're 47 00:05:15,481 --> 00:05:20,553 able to post-process that and look at coral cover, algae cover, and that gives us a really 48 00:05:20,653 --> 00:05:24,857 good understanding of what's happening with the coral communities and the overall reef 49 00:05:24,957 --> 00:05:29,829 health. So, are there changes in algae, changes in coral, changes in the size structure of 50 00:05:29,929 --> 00:05:31,731 the coral community? 51 00:05:31,831 --> 00:05:37,070 In addition, Valerie is taking hundreds of photos of the reef that can later be stitched 52 00:05:37,170 --> 00:05:40,873 together into a large photo mosaic. 53 00:05:40,973 --> 00:05:45,144 And that gives us a 3D model of the reef that we're hopefully going to be able to use to 54 00:05:45,244 --> 00:05:50,783 assess structural complexity and then look for changes over time. 55 00:05:50,883 --> 00:05:57,323 And the monitoring program doesn t just rely on visual data. In the remote and pristine 56 00:05:57,423 --> 00:06:04,864 Fagatele Bay the experts installed an ecological acoustic recorder that captures the soundscape 57 00:06:04,964 --> 00:06:06,766 of the reef. 58 00:06:06,866 --> 00:06:11,938 What this does is it captures all the noises on the reef 24 hours a day. Similar to walking 59 00:06:12,038 --> 00:06:17,977 into a forest and you hear birds, if you dive into a reef, you should hear shrimp and fish, 60 00:06:18,077 --> 00:06:22,949 all making noise, there's snapping and there's grunting. The noises on a reef can really 61 00:06:23,049 --> 00:06:27,687 tell you a lot about whether it's healthy or whether it's impacted. It can also tell 62 00:06:27,787 --> 00:06:32,658 us if there's vessels coming into the reef. And so having that information will improve 63 00:06:32,759 --> 00:06:36,796 our ability to manage reefs and to understand some of the things that are happening when 64 00:06:36,896 --> 00:06:39,031 we're not there. 65 00:06:39,132 --> 00:06:44,203 Just how valuable it is to monitor changes on a reef over time is evident in the village 66 00:06:44,303 --> 00:06:47,907 of A a, across from the Pago Pago Harbor. 67 00:06:48,007 --> 00:06:55,248 The A a transect is actually the longest coral reef survey transect that's resurveyed 68 00:06:55,348 --> 00:07:04,257 in the world. So it's a really exciting thing for the territory. And in 1917, Alfred Mayor 69 00:07:04,357 --> 00:07:08,594 set this transect up and we've monitored it ever since. 70 00:07:08,694 --> 00:07:14,333 It's something that we are proud of because it's right in our village. We're trying to 71 00:07:14,434 --> 00:07:19,272 preserve this coral here because it's very important. 72 00:07:19,372 --> 00:07:24,544 It's 247 meters long, this transect, and it runs from the shore to the crest. So it's 73 00:07:24,644 --> 00:07:29,282 a huge area of this reef flat. 74 00:07:29,382 --> 00:07:35,221 Since Alfred Mayor first started his monitoring, this reef flat has been impacted by a variety 75 00:07:35,321 --> 00:07:38,224 of stressors. 76 00:07:38,324 --> 00:07:43,095 After World War II, the harbor had a significant increase in development. We had two canneries 77 00:07:43,196 --> 00:07:48,201 come in, we had dredging happening. We had different sedimentation and pollution. We 78 00:07:48,301 --> 00:07:52,171 can track those changes in those coral reef communities. And we didn't see any recovery 79 00:07:52,271 --> 00:07:55,441 after that for about forty years. 80 00:07:55,541 --> 00:08:02,248 With the environmental regulation they started diverting the pipes away, the wastewater, 81 00:08:02,348 --> 00:08:10,490 more out the harbor. So by 1990, we started to see the recovery of the reef and that's 82 00:08:10,590 --> 00:08:18,931 a good sign that our efforts to manage our water quality is working. 83 00:08:19,031 --> 00:08:24,570 Switching from septic tanks to municipal sewer lines will further improve the water quality 84 00:08:24,670 --> 00:08:26,506 in the bay. 85 00:08:26,606 --> 00:08:33,913 When I became a representative almost fourteen years ago, one of my goals is to have a sewer 86 00:08:34,013 --> 00:08:42,955 line for this village, never was before. Now, half of my village is already functioning 87 00:08:43,055 --> 00:08:50,363 on the sewer line and we're going to finish. The coral is very, very dear to my heart. 88 00:08:50,463 --> 00:08:56,469 The Coral Reef Advisory Group, a collaboration of seven local agencies, is working closely 89 00:08:56,569 --> 00:09:01,841 with the A a village and village council to protect and restore the reef. 90 00:09:01,941 --> 00:09:08,014 This village is well known for the warriors in the old days. 91 00:09:08,114 --> 00:09:12,018 We're going to work together on coral restoration. 92 00:09:12,118 --> 00:09:18,958 I like to see a healthy coral reef. I love this village. That's why I try to do the best 93 00:09:19,058 --> 00:09:23,930 for our village. 94 00:09:24,030 --> 00:09:30,570 Samoans have their own creation story of a God they believe in, Tagaloa-lagi was his 95 00:09:30,670 --> 00:09:37,043 name. People were actually asked by Tagaloa to really take care of these special places, 96 00:09:37,143 --> 00:09:43,482 the ocean, because these places will sustain them throughout their livelihood. And the 97 00:09:43,583 --> 00:09:50,823 Samoan people are very much dependent on the ocean for their food source. 98 00:09:50,923 --> 00:09:58,030 There are a number of reasons why reefs may be doing better in American Samoa than elsewhere. 99 00:09:58,130 --> 00:10:03,569 The islands are far removed from any other landmass, and there is minimal industry or 100 00:10:03,669 --> 00:10:05,438 tourism. 101 00:10:05,538 --> 00:10:12,979 We don't have much major development in the territory. All land is protected through our 102 00:10:13,079 --> 00:10:20,019 land tenure system, which are the matais, chiefs of the family, who are caretaker. 103 00:10:20,119 --> 00:10:25,124 Lands on island are not for sale. Lands are assigned to family members to build their 104 00:10:25,224 --> 00:10:28,260 homes or cultivate. 105 00:10:28,361 --> 00:10:35,635 So that's sort of protected, you know, these lands from outsiders and all the development. 106 00:10:35,735 --> 00:10:41,040 So that help minimize direct impact from land to sea. 107 00:10:41,140 --> 00:10:47,680 While local managers can t control the global stressors caused by climate change, they can 108 00:10:47,780 --> 00:10:53,085 help reduce localized impacts that harm the coral reefs. 109 00:10:53,185 --> 00:10:58,391 Things like pollution coming from villages, sewage that's not being managed properly, 110 00:10:58,491 --> 00:11:03,262 illegal dumping that may be getting into the ocean. And then also managing the watersheds 111 00:11:03,362 --> 00:11:08,801 above the coral reefs, which we find is a huge contributor to stressors. 112 00:11:08,901 --> 00:11:13,472 So that when things on a global scale, like, you know, rising sea temperatures or sea level 113 00:11:13,572 --> 00:11:18,077 or the frequency of cyclones, increases, they're in a better position to protect themselves 114 00:11:18,177 --> 00:11:22,014 from that. 115 00:11:22,114 --> 00:11:27,920 Thriving reefs aren t American Samoa s only claim to fame. The territory is also 116 00:11:28,020 --> 00:11:35,995 home to some of the world s largest documented corals, found in the waters off Ta , about 117 00:11:36,095 --> 00:11:38,798 70 miles east of Tutuila. 118 00:11:38,898 --> 00:11:42,601 It's also known as the Valley of the Giants. 119 00:11:42,702 --> 00:11:49,442 In 1995 scientists described the first famous coral colony, which is located inside the 120 00:11:49,542 --> 00:11:51,177 National Marine Sanctuary. 121 00:11:51,277 --> 00:11:59,385 It is recorded to be around 500 years old. It's also known as Big Momma. 122 00:11:59,485 --> 00:12:08,594 This is a very large, massive porites colony that is about 23 feet tall and 135 feet around. 123 00:12:08,694 --> 00:12:13,666 When you're up next to it, it kind of dwarfs you. It's as big as a house almost. And so 124 00:12:13,766 --> 00:12:16,202 it s just spectacular. 125 00:12:16,302 --> 00:12:22,174 It's made it through these bleaching events recently and overall it's in really good shape. 126 00:12:22,274 --> 00:12:29,181 And it turns out Big Momma isn t the only large coral in the Valley of the Giants. 127 00:12:29,281 --> 00:12:33,919 Recently the National Marine Sanctuary, along with the National Park Service and the local 128 00:12:34,019 --> 00:12:39,558 agencies through the Coral Reef Advisory Group, conducted a survey around Ta to look 129 00:12:39,658 --> 00:12:46,799 for other large corals. And so we towed all around the western, north and eastern sides 130 00:12:46,899 --> 00:12:54,340 of Ta and documented all of the large corals there. Every time they saw a coral 131 00:12:54,440 --> 00:12:59,345 that met the specifications of over two meters across they would then notify people on the 132 00:12:59,445 --> 00:13:05,451 boat to take a waypoint so we were able to map all these very large porites colonies. 133 00:13:05,551 --> 00:13:09,388 What's really exciting is our study revealed that we have several hundred colonies that 134 00:13:09,488 --> 00:13:13,492 are over six, seven feet in diameter. 135 00:13:13,592 --> 00:13:19,498 While measuring some of these large corals in the fall of 2019, the research team documented 136 00:13:19,598 --> 00:13:28,207 a coral head inside the National Park of American Samoa that is even larger than Big Momma. 137 00:13:28,307 --> 00:13:35,648 That coral is about 26 feet high, about 226 feet around, and is quite spectacular. 138 00:13:35,748 --> 00:13:42,521 It was phenomenal. It's incredibly healthy. It s like nothing I've ever seen before. 139 00:13:42,621 --> 00:13:47,893 So this now makes this the largest coral that we have in the territory and one of the largest 140 00:13:47,993 --> 00:13:52,131 corals in the world. This is something that is extraordinary in science, these corals 141 00:13:52,231 --> 00:13:58,037 are really slow growing. So this genus grows potentially one centimeter in a year. 142 00:13:58,137 --> 00:14:05,077 It really makes me feel, you know, proud of our islands. We're trying to find where is 143 00:14:05,177 --> 00:14:11,217 that uniqueness from, why, why our islands? 144 00:14:11,317 --> 00:14:23,529 The same species of porites coral is also found in the nearby Ofu pools. This stunningly 145 00:14:23,629 --> 00:14:29,435 beautiful shallow lagoon provides scientists with a living laboratory to study the impacts 146 00:14:29,535 --> 00:14:33,272 of rising water temperatures on corals. 147 00:14:33,372 --> 00:14:37,610 It doesn't seem to bleach as often as other reefs around the world are doing. 148 00:14:37,710 --> 00:14:42,047 Those reefs can see changes of up to six degrees Celsius in a day. So those corals have had 149 00:14:42,147 --> 00:14:46,986 to adapt to such significant changes in temperature. And it takes just one degree Celsius change 150 00:14:47,086 --> 00:14:53,792 in that temperature for a week to induce the stress response that we refer to as bleaching. 151 00:14:53,893 --> 00:14:59,665 Coral bleaching happens when water temperatures are too high and corals expel the symbiotic 152 00:14:59,765 --> 00:15:05,704 algae living in their tissues. These algae make up about 90 percent of a coral s food 153 00:15:05,804 --> 00:15:10,843 source, and without them the corals eventually starve. 154 00:15:10,943 --> 00:15:15,314 They can survive like this for a short period of time. If the temperatures don't come back 155 00:15:15,414 --> 00:15:20,152 to the normal level, that's when you start seeing mortality. 156 00:15:20,252 --> 00:15:26,425 The reef in Ofu actually gets cut off from the rest of the ocean at low tide. And so 157 00:15:26,525 --> 00:15:32,731 there is a theory that we've contemplated for years that the reef has evolved over time 158 00:15:32,831 --> 00:15:40,839 to be better suited to warmer water. And maybe that's why it's more resilient. 159 00:15:40,940 --> 00:15:47,579 Record high temperatures between 2015 and 2017 led to severe bleaching on reefs across 160 00:15:47,680 --> 00:15:55,854 the Pacific Ocean, including in American Samoa. In many places large swaths of centuries old 161 00:15:55,955 --> 00:15:57,957 reefs were lost. 162 00:15:58,057 --> 00:16:02,728 We definitely did a lot better and didn't have as much mortality following that. 163 00:16:02,828 --> 00:16:08,200 What's so special about the reefs here in American Samoa that they're able to recover 164 00:16:08,300 --> 00:16:11,770 from repeated coral bleaching and other threats? 165 00:16:11,870 --> 00:16:15,941 By looking at those resilient reefs, we can determine better what species might be more 166 00:16:16,041 --> 00:16:20,612 suited for things like transplantation or other things that managers could do in the 167 00:16:20,713 --> 00:16:26,251 future to help coral reefs survive. 168 00:16:26,352 --> 00:16:31,056 Rising temperatures are just one of several climate change-related impacts that are threatening 169 00:16:31,156 --> 00:16:39,565 coral reefs worldwide. Climate change is caused by increased levels of atmospheric carbon-dioxide, 170 00:16:39,665 --> 00:16:48,073 or CO , brought on primarily by the burning of fossil fuels. 171 00:16:48,173 --> 00:16:53,245 Concentrations of CO in the atmosphere are continuously measured at four remote U.S. 172 00:16:53,345 --> 00:16:59,718 atmospheric baseline observatories, including one in American Samoa. 173 00:16:59,818 --> 00:17:07,359 The oldest one is on the slopes of Mauna Loa. That was founded in 1958, with the South Pole 174 00:17:07,459 --> 00:17:14,099 a couple months later. And then our other sister station up in Barrow, Alaska, in 1973 175 00:17:14,199 --> 00:17:22,508 and then finally American Samoa in 1974. We measure over 60 different chemical compounds. 176 00:17:22,608 --> 00:17:28,247 Everything from ones you hear every day, like carbon dioxide in the atmosphere to the ozone 177 00:17:28,347 --> 00:17:40,392 layer, to hydrocarbons, to CFCs, to oxygen and nitrogen in the atmosphere. 178 00:17:40,492 --> 00:17:46,532 When CO concentrations were first recorded in 1958, the average level of atmospheric 179 00:17:46,632 --> 00:17:54,506 CO was 315 parts per million. Since then, levels are increasing more rapidly than ever 180 00:17:54,606 --> 00:17:59,244 before in earth s history. 181 00:17:59,344 --> 00:18:06,785 Last year the average was 412 parts per million. So it has been going up rather quickly. 182 00:18:06,885 --> 00:18:12,157 The data collected at the observatories is sent to a home base in Boulder, Colorado, 183 00:18:12,257 --> 00:18:14,526 where it s analyzed. 184 00:18:14,626 --> 00:18:19,631 I take weekly glass flasks for the Carbon Cycle Group here. They measure the CO in 185 00:18:19,731 --> 00:18:25,671 the atmosphere. They have a machine here that measures it 24/7, 365 days a week. But we 186 00:18:25,771 --> 00:18:31,276 still want to take these glass samples, these flasks, that I send back to Boulder weekly 187 00:18:31,376 --> 00:18:36,348 so they can measure them there, make sure the machine has given right numbers and then 188 00:18:36,448 --> 00:18:41,620 they can use more sensitive instruments they have out there as well to get a more precise 189 00:18:41,720 --> 00:18:43,522 reading. 190 00:18:43,622 --> 00:18:49,895 As levels of carbon-dioxide increase in the atmosphere, the oceans also take up more CO . 191 00:18:49,995 --> 00:18:55,934 It makes the oceans more acidic because the ocean absorbs that carbon dioxide and makes 192 00:18:56,034 --> 00:19:02,407 carbonic acid. And that's really bad news for corals and other organisms that secrete 193 00:19:02,508 --> 00:19:07,045 shells that are made out of calcium carbonate because it makes it harder for them to create 194 00:19:07,146 --> 00:19:13,285 their shells and their skeletons. The reefs in American Samoa are helping to block storm 195 00:19:13,385 --> 00:19:21,527 waves and tsunami waves that impact the shoreline. And so with ocean acidification, if corals 196 00:19:21,627 --> 00:19:25,697 slow down their growth, then they're not going to be able to keep up with sea level rise 197 00:19:25,797 --> 00:19:30,802 and that protective value is going to decline. And that's going to have big impacts for the 198 00:19:30,903 --> 00:19:36,542 human communities here on the island. 199 00:19:36,642 --> 00:19:42,614 To measure acidity levels in local waters, the NOAA Ocean Acidification Program teamed 200 00:19:42,714 --> 00:19:48,787 up with the National Marine Sanctuary and other agencies in 2019 and installed a monitoring 201 00:19:48,887 --> 00:19:52,624 buoy in Fagatele Bay. 202 00:19:52,724 --> 00:19:57,829 And that's going to give us real time monitoring of key parameters of ocean acidification over 203 00:19:57,930 --> 00:20:04,303 time. American Samoa has the highest aragonite saturation levels measured in any of the 48 204 00:20:04,403 --> 00:20:09,942 islands that are monitored through the National Coral Reef Monitoring Program in the Pacific. 205 00:20:10,042 --> 00:20:15,314 That Aragonite is what is used by these organisms to build their skeletons. Having that readily 206 00:20:15,414 --> 00:20:20,619 available may mean that they're just able to battle some of these impacts a little bit 207 00:20:20,719 --> 00:20:24,856 better cause they don't have to spend as much energy building their skeletons. I think having 208 00:20:24,957 --> 00:20:31,296 the MAPCO2 buoy here is going to help understand some of those processes better. Coupled with 209 00:20:31,396 --> 00:20:35,667 the biological data that we're collecting and the acoustic data that we're collecting, 210 00:20:35,767 --> 00:20:41,373 it should allow us to have a really robust picture, say in a decade, by putting all of 211 00:20:41,473 --> 00:20:46,979 that together and looking at whether there are changes in the coral communities, in the 212 00:20:47,079 --> 00:20:53,118 sound profiles, as we see changes in pH and carbon dioxide chemistry in the water in Fagatele. 213 00:20:53,218 --> 00:20:58,790 I don't want to paint too rosy of a picture. The reefs here are doing relatively well, 214 00:20:58,890 --> 00:21:02,060 but all of that could change very quickly. 215 00:21:02,160 --> 00:21:07,165 While the coral reefs in American Samoa have so far proven more resilient than others to 216 00:21:07,266 --> 00:21:14,006 coral bleaching and ocean acidification, parts of the island territory are already feeling 217 00:21:14,106 --> 00:21:23,448 the effects of another climate change impact sea level rise. Over the last decade sea 218 00:21:23,548 --> 00:21:29,288 levels have risen by more than seven inches, affecting the residents of Aunu u, a 219 00:21:29,388 --> 00:21:40,032 small island just a short ferry ride away from Tutuila. 220 00:21:40,132 --> 00:21:47,539 It's beautiful. It really is peaceful, and you know, the people are nice. Everyone's, 221 00:21:47,639 --> 00:21:49,341 you know, welcoming. 222 00:21:49,441 --> 00:21:55,213 Aunu u is at the forefront of all the climate change impacts in American Samoa. 223 00:21:55,314 --> 00:21:59,685 The sea level rise is very obvious here. 224 00:21:59,785 --> 00:22:07,092 (foreign language) Our water well is now both saltwater and freshwater mixed together. It 225 00:22:07,192 --> 00:22:14,299 has more of a salty taste than freshwater. 226 00:22:14,399 --> 00:22:22,274 At certain times waves wash over the roads and erode the shoreline as well as flood the 227 00:22:22,374 --> 00:22:26,278 power plant on the southwestern side of the island. 228 00:22:26,378 --> 00:22:35,821 (foreign language) We have now started constructing seawalls on the side where the power plant 229 00:22:35,921 --> 00:22:50,202 is and hopefully can hold off the intrusion of waves and saltwater from also entering 230 00:22:50,302 --> 00:22:55,307 our taro plantation. 231 00:22:55,407 --> 00:23:00,078 Aunu u is famous for its taro. 232 00:23:00,178 --> 00:23:07,252 In my opinion, not just me though, Aunu u, it has the best taro anywhere in the Pacific. 233 00:23:07,352 --> 00:23:14,459 Taro is a type of starch. You would compare it to yams, and it's a source of food as well 234 00:23:14,559 --> 00:23:16,695 as income. 235 00:23:16,795 --> 00:23:23,101 In recent years, saltwater has been seeping into the fields from below. Local islander 236 00:23:23,201 --> 00:23:28,006 Sinalei Ta ala is researching the problem. 237 00:23:28,106 --> 00:23:33,044 Some of the local farmers that I've talked to, they've known for quite a long while that 238 00:23:33,145 --> 00:23:39,418 the saltwater's in the water. So I found like a measurement of salinity about two to six 239 00:23:39,518 --> 00:23:45,290 parts per thousand. And so I fear that sometime in the future, you know, the sea level is 240 00:23:45,390 --> 00:23:51,363 still rising, so it's going to be like a bigger problem because the taro cannot grow in salt 241 00:23:51,463 --> 00:23:58,036 water. I've planned to stay here for the rest of my life, but, like, it looks like that's 242 00:23:58,136 --> 00:24:06,611 not going to be possible in maybe 20 years, and, yeah, it is nerve wracking to think of, 243 00:24:06,711 --> 00:24:11,550 you know, my home being gone sometime in the future, submerged in water because there is 244 00:24:11,650 --> 00:24:20,358 no place like home, and I don't want to leave. 245 00:24:20,459 --> 00:24:27,632 It is real and it is happening, and time is running out. So for families in the South 246 00:24:27,732 --> 00:24:34,973 Pacific, it's just very, very important that the rest of the world knows what we're going 247 00:24:35,073 --> 00:24:39,744 through and what our children will have to go through. It's gonna impact so much more 248 00:24:39,845 --> 00:24:46,084 than just our shorelines. A whole way of life is at stake. 249 00:24:46,184 --> 00:24:50,288 We have an obligation to protect these areas, not only for the environment, but also for 250 00:24:50,388 --> 00:24:54,459 the people that need these areas to survive. 251 00:24:54,559 --> 00:24:58,430 Part of our job with the sanctuary is to try to make sure that those reefs are as resilient 252 00:24:58,530 --> 00:25:03,635 and healthy as possible, not just to protect the biodiversity and the reefs themselves, 253 00:25:03,735 --> 00:25:08,874 but also to protect those communities that are so vulnerable to climate change impacts 254 00:25:08,974 --> 00:25:13,144 and sea level rise. 255 00:25:13,245 --> 00:25:22,120 Coral reefs are integral part of life on the islands. It protects our shoreline, but also 256 00:25:22,220 --> 00:25:28,426 provide food for our families. Coral reef are part of our rich culture and tradition. 257 00:25:28,527 --> 00:25:37,035 Fa asamoa, or the Samoan way of living, values respect, because we believe that God 258 00:25:37,135 --> 00:25:41,840 gave us the resource to protect and to use properly. 259 00:25:41,940 --> 00:25:47,946 And our hope is that we continue to protect the marine ecosystem for both current and 260 00:25:48,046 --> 00:26:20,178 future generation. 261 00:26:20,278 --> 00:26:25,750 Major funding for this program was provided by The Batchelor Foundation, encouraging people 262 00:26:25,850 --> 00:26:32,724 to preserve and protect America's underwater resources, and by The Arthur Vining Davis 263 00:26:32,824 --> 00:26:39,631 Foundations, strengthening America's future through education. Additional funding was 264 00:26:39,731 --> 00:26:43,731 provided by The William J. & Tina Rosenberg Foundation and by the Do Unto Others Trust.