Ladies and Gentlemen, I am indeed very delighted to join you tonight for the presentation of this year’s Environment Awards. 

We are here to acknowledge the key Individuals, Groups, Companies, Communities and Schools who have made significant contributions to the sustainability of our environment and for their efforts to promote environmental awareness and affect positive change.

It is a celebration of your valuable contributions in environmental management. The inspiration of our all our award recipients shines a light on the future direction for our country.

My warmest congratulations to all of you!

The National Environment Awards was first launched in Samoa, by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment in 1995,….  over twenty years ago at the height of the global move towards sustainable development following the Earth Summit in 1992 at Rio de Janeiro, and the global recognition of Environment Conventions which became popular as the RIO Conventions or what we normally referred to as the : Conventions on Biological Diversity, UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and UN Convention to Combat Land Degradation.

This Environment award event has steadily grown over the years since it was first introduced, and it is now one of the Ministry’s key events during the Environment Week Programme. To date the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment has awarded 150 environment awards for the various environmental categories recognizing the significant contributions of our people. Tonight, we have 20 Awards.

This encouraging response is a sign and a deeply held belief that the environment lies at the core of all we do in this country.

This week we commemorated the importance of our environment with the theme “National Resilience through environmental sustainability – an integrated approach” . What does this mean to all of us? And how can we demonstrate this into practical actions?

Ladies and gentlemen, our award winners have demonstrated this through their vision and determination in embracing green trends in energy efficiency, waste management, sustainable land management, eco-system based adaptation, resource conservation and environment awareness.

Non-governmental Groups and companies have moved ahead with their ability to innovate and re-engineer their businesses towards green operations. Not only is "going green" good for our environment, it is also good for business. Conserving resources and saving energy can reduce costs and create profits. As we work to protect our environment, we also are working to protect our health, our communities, our families and the social wellbeing of our nation.

The award recipients show that we can improve our living environment in many ways, in more ways than one. Some went beyond their routine boundaries to work with other overseas agencies. Others stepped forward to reach out and mobilize their local communities. Whichever way it may be, we appreciate the time and effort that you have put in. You are an inspiration to others who are encouraged to follow your footsteps in working collaboratively, with the community, and building our national resilience through environmental sustainability, in an integrated way.

Our Environment Week programme and events has highlighted key environmental strategies launched, MOUs signed with communities, awareness materials developed for more visibility , dialogue on Oceans and Climate Change, national tree planting in support of the 2 Million Tree campaign, Environment sector review, CSO Talanoa on partnerships and ecosystem based adaptation, and the Environment Forum today from key presenters on key environmental issues.

It has been a very busy, inter-active and exciting and week for all of us and now and culminating in the environment Awards tonight.

This is a meaningful occasion for us to take time to reflect on our partnerships and celebrate the efforts of our colleagues and partners working for the benefit of the public. To take on the challenges of the future, we need people to adopt a “can-do” attitude and an enterprising spirit, just as our award recipients have demonstrated.

Once again, congratulations to all the award winners and I wish you all continued success.
Thank you very much for your extraordinary efforts to ensure that our environment is cleaner, safer, and healthier for future generations.

And now, let us proceed to the presentation of the awards.            

Thank you very much and congratulations again.