HomeMy WebLinkAboutRozendo, Hannah
Tsuneda, Kaci
From:Hannah Rozendo <hrozendo@hawaii.edu>
Sent:Monday, July 20, 2026 8:54 PM
To:Council Testimony
Subject:SUPPORT Reso 603-26
From:
Hannah Rozendo
Pāpa ʻ ikou, Hawai ʻ i
Chairperson Sharon Hurd
Board of Agriculture and Biosecurity
1428 South King Street
Honolulu, Hawai ʻ i 96814
Re: A RESOLUTION URGING THE DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE & BIOSECURITY TO IMPLEMENT AND
ENFORCE PLANT QUARANTINE INTERIM RULE 26-1, REGULATING TRANSPORTATION OF CRB HOST
MATERIAL ON HAWAI ʻ I ISLAND.
Aloha Chairperson Hurd and members of the Board of Ag and Biosecurity,
This testimony is in SUPPORT of Resolution 603-26, which urges the Dept. of Ag and Biosecurity (DAB)
to FULLY IMPLEMENT and ENFORCE Plant Quarantine Rule 26-1.
As we are all aware, coconut rhinoceros beetle (CRB) was first detected in the archipelago on O ʻ ahu in
2013. Thirteen years later, it has reached every other major island from Hawai ʻ i to Kaua ʻ i, and already two
of these islands have no hope of eradication, relegated to eventual management. Hawai ʻ i island still has
a chance at eradication, which could be the deciding factor that saves endemic species such as loulu,
economically important food sources such as papaya and cacao, and irreplaceable cultural kīpuka of
coconut and hala groves.
After initial detection of CRB on Hawai ʻ i island in Waikōloa Village in 2023, adult and larval stages of CRB
detections have exponentially increased in west Hawai ʻ i. Last week, we received word that an adult CRB
was captured at the Hilo Airport. This most likely means that larvae are already embedded in east Hawai ʻ i
green waste and it is certainly not the only adult beetle present.
I have already spent countless days volunteering my energies and resources to prevent the spread of
CRB and have done everything within my power as an individual community member. The efforts of
myself and CRB-preventative communities need DAB to respond. I ask humbly but urgently that DAB
fully implements and enforces Plant Quarantine Rule 26-1 EXPEDITIOUSLY to prevent the biocultural
losses forecasted from CRB on Hawai ʻ i Island. This step is the first of several our community needs DAB
to act on for us all to thrive.
Mahalo for the opportunity to provide this testimony and attention to the threat of CRB. Please act
quickly to control the spread of CRB across Hawai ʻ i island.
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Me ka ha ʻ aha ʻ a,
Hannah Rozendo
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