OIA PRESS RELEASE
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| Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary Nikolao Pula presents Tavita Togia with 2008 Cooperative Conservation Award at Interior |
Dedicated American Samoan
Recognized for Conservation Work
Washington D.C. April 21, 2008 – In an award ceremony today at the
U.S. Department of the Interior, Secretary Pulele’i’te* Kempthorne
recognized several awardees for their outstanding conservation achievements
attained through collaboration and partnership with others with the 2008 Cooperation
Conservation Award. Among the recipients was Tavita Togia of the National
Park Service, National Park of American Samoa, recognized for his unparalleled
accomplishments collaborating with traditional leaders and locals, nonprofits,
and Government agencies to eradicate invasive species in American Samoa.
The Citation for the 2008 Cooperation Conservation Award awarded to Tavita
Togia reads as follows:
 “One of the most urgent environmental problems facing American Samoa
today is the rapid spread of invasive plant species across its steep island
landscape. These species grow and spread rapidly and outcompete native
forest species, threatening the structure and function of the rainforest ecosystem,
which contains many species found nowhere else on earth. Mr. Tavita Togia,
a native Samoan who serves as the only terrestrial biologist for the small
and remote National Park of American Samoa, recognized this closing window
of opportunity and took action. Understanding the impossibility of success
without collaboration, Mr. Togia has teamed with villagers, their traditional
Village Councils, non-Government donor organizations, local agencies, and the
National Park. He personally initiated a long-term program on the Island
of Tutuila to eradicate Falcataria moluccana, the most noxious invasive
tree species, locally called the tamaligi. Approximately 35 percent of the
forested lands on Tutuila Island (the main island in the territory) have been
invaded by the tamaligi. Mr. Togia and his crew of volunteers, seasonal
staff, and village workers girdled every large tamaligi seed tree across more
than 1,000 acres of infested forest, over 2,000 trees in total.
Mr. Togia distinguishes himself through his leadership and initiative, ability
to identify cooperative solutions, hands-on participation in field activities,
educational outreach efforts, and especially his work with the local Samoan
community. He has created a cooperative model of how to work with villagers
to accomplish conservation projects within a Samoan context-a winning combination
of listening to, and working with, the traditional village leaders, establishing
common goals, engaging active participation by local villagers, and motivating
people to action.
For his leadership and dedication to the collaborative conservation of rainforests
in American Samoa, Tavita Togia is granted the Cooperative Conservation Award
of the Department of the Interior.”
Signed by the Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne
Also present at the awards ceremony was Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary
Nikolao Pula who expressed his appreciation for Togia’s work and making
American Samoa proud. Tavita was the only individual to receive an award
and the only recipient recognized for conservation work in the insular areas.
When asked what he thought of receiving the award, Tavita Togia made special
mention of his appreciation to all the partners and collaborators in making
this work a success. “I especially want to recognize the Fagasa
Village Council, without whom the success of this important work would not
have been possible.”
Thank you Tavia and Congratulations from the Office of Insular Affairs.
The Cooperative Conservation Award recognizes cooperative conservation
achievements that involve collaborative activity among a diverse range
of entities that may include Federal, State, local and tribal governments,
private for profit and nonprofit institutions, other non-governmental
entities, and individuals. For more information, visit this website: DOI
Partnerships Awards (http://www.doi.gov/partnerships/awards.html)
* Note: Pulele’i’ite is the chiefly
title that was bestowed upon Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne when
he visited American Samoa in June 2007. The title is not term-limited. For
more on this see: American
Samoa Leaders Bestow Title Pulele’i’ite Interior
Secretary Kempthorne
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