The U.S. Department of the Interior’s Office of Insular Affairs (OIA) has announced $2.5 million in Fiscal Year 2024 funding from President Biden’s Investing in America agenda that will provide the U.S. territories of American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI) with vital biosecurity training opportunities and projects that improve island and coastal ecosystem resilience.
American Samoa is awarded $422,162 for the development of fumigation and incineration capacity on-island to address critical biosecurity gaps. Funds will also support on-island biosecurity training, featuring national and international experts.
Assistant Secretary for Insular and International Affairs Carmen G. Cantor said, “Funds provided under the President’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law continue to make significant investments in the territories.
“Bipartisan Infrastructure Law projects awarded will enhance biosecurity and strengthen efforts to mitigate the impacts of invasive species, and bolster ecosystem resilience by restoring natural processes and using nature-based solutions to protect coastal, coral, and island ecosystems in our Pacific and Caribbean territories.”
