MIN CHARTER 2019-04-01 (2018-2020) - Public Hearing

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Hawai`i County Charter Commission — Public Hearing April 1, 2019 reserves and the coral reefs, and these conservation volunteers already mostly in lower income brackets, somehow find the time to do this work because we love the land. So like similar groups in other areas, we are always appreciative of ways in which our work can find some fiscal support. Especially from a fund that is earmarked for such use and is currently flush. CA -9 as originally proposed, maintains the spirit of the program by specifying that a single salaried position be created to administer the program. This specificity is necessary because it is clear that the scope of the job requires no more than one person. So this amendment needs to be returned to its original language or be modified again to have that one staff member specificity. Just to wrap up, as to the big picture of why it is imperative to protect our heritage and wild lands. We are blessed with a corner of the world which still maintains substantial natural beauty. There is an inherent pricelessness to this which indigenous people and certainly our Native Hawaiian predecessors knew intrinsically. Wild lands are a repository of biological diversity. They stabilize the weather and bring rains, and they are a precious setting for ecology education. As the Big Island makes its way toward declared renewable energy and food self- sufficiency goals, we will continue to rely upon the visitor industry as part of our economy. As fossil fuels become more scarce, prohibitive air travel pricing will reduce the mass tourism sector while increasing the luxury and ecotourism sectors. Already far seeing jurisdictions like the State of Florida, the countries of Palau, Costa Rica, Uruguay, Botswana, and others, have implemented strict policies protecting the use of their territorial natural beauty resources specialty income and a more place sensitive visitor demography are already flowing to such destinations. By contrast other places like the Greek island of Rhodes and so many parts of the Asian pacific have been devastated by the encroachment of cheap short-term mass tourism. Let us not choose that route. Also, as we learn to limit the extent of greenhouse gas emissions and to draw down carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, it should be noted that protecting forests keeps carbon in the ground and discourages fossil fuel intensive activities like development. For instance one 157 acre forest on the PONC priority list Wai`ele sequesters over 15,000 metric tons of carbon every year. We can join with the 1.4 million students worldwide who marched last month for climate justice and a livable future by keeping and defending this wonderful Hawai`i program of which we all should be justifiably proud, the 2% Land Fund so I give to you guys to take care of that. Thank you. CHR. ADAMS: Thank you very much. If I could ask Deborah Ward to please come to the table. Ma'am please. ANN KOBSA: Proposal No. CA9 and CA -18 in support. Page 8