25 Jan 2008

American Samoa welcomes Unesco bid for Fagatele Bay

4:27 pm on 25 January 2008

The American Samoan government has welcomed a US decision to consider the Fagatele Bay National Marine Sanctuary for a UNESCO World Heritage listing.

The sanctuary is among 14 United States sites that are to be included in the World Heritage Tentative List.

It has now qualified to be considered for the UNESCO World Heritage List, a status that recognises the world's most important cultural and natural sites.

The ministry of commerce looks after the sanctuary, and its deputy director, Lelei Peau, says the listing is spectacular.

"This is indeed an honor to the government and the people of American Samoa to be recognised. I realise there's a process that we still need to go through, but to make it to this level, I think, is a great accomplishment to the people of the territory."

Lelei Peau

The sanctuary is a vibrant reef marine ecosystem, filled with many brightly-coloured fish.