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Swallow, Linda
From: Leimana DaMate [leimana@tastnethi.com]
Sent: Friday, June 15, 2007 5:28 PM
To: counciltestimony@co.hawaii.hi.us
Subject: DaMate, 6/15107 =Testimony -Resolution 169-07
Attachments: PIRMI Testimony Punalu'u 61907.doc; S61853 CD1.mht (24.1 KB)
Aloha,
Please submit my attached testimony to the Hawaii County Council Committee on Finance to be included at the public
hearing scheduled for Tuesday, June 19, 2007 at the Sheraton Keauhou Bay Resort at 9:30a.m.
I a:n a resident of Kahuku in the Ka'u District.
Thank you,
Leimana DaMate
Lciuttma DaMale
92-X926 Hihiscas Drire
Capt. Cook, 1/1 96704
Ylc (808)640-3205
Email: [eima~m(d;/astne[/ri.cont
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6/18/2007
The Pacific /s/ands Resource Management /nstitute
92-8926 Hibiscus Drive
Capt. Cook, Hawaii 96804
Phone: (808)640-3205
Emai/.• /eimana~afastnethi.com
PI RMI
Hawaii County Council Committee on Finance
TESTIMONY
Resolution 169-07
To: Chair Dominic Yagong
Members of the Committee on Finance
Hawaii County Council -Committee on Finance
From: Leimana DaMate, President
PIRMI
Date: June 19, 2007, 9:30 a.m.
Place: Sheraton Keauhou Bay Resort and Spa
78-128 Ehukai Street
Kailua-Kona, Hawaii
Subject: Resolution 169-07: Authorizing the Director of Finance to enter into
negotiations for the acquisition of Punalu'u Beach Park, Ninole Pond and adjacent lands
in the District of Ka'u. Pursuant to Chapter 2, Article 42, Hawaii County Code.
Aloha Chair Yagong and Members of the Committee on Finance,
The district of Ka'u has long been known to be the "piko" of Hawaiian culture and is one
of the few remaining azeas on the Island of Hawaii where the community, made up of
generational families and long-time residents have been closely intertwined in a
successfully lived rural lifestyle. More importantly, this standard of living strongly
reflects the Hawaiian cultural existence throughout the community. Now, in today's
world the necessity of economic well-being must be in balance with the necessity of
sustaining a traditional and cultural lifestyle.
Recently, the proposal for the acquisition of 150 acres of coastal land including Punalu'u
Beach, Ninole Pond and adjacent lands in the District of Ka'u has brought to light these
very conflicting areas of concern. At stake is the well-being of the entire community and
the issue must be resolved. The foundation of the community is the traditional Hawaiian
way of life that must be perpetuated. Yet, without an economic structure that can sustain
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the community, there is the real threat that this unique area will be assimilated into
further poverty and neglect.
A possible solution and a necessary avenue that could be explored is the inclusion of the
Aha Moku System. This system was recently passed in the 2007 Legislature and creates
Moku Advisory Councils with a mechanism that is based on Hawaiian methodology of
resource protection. The format is founded on specific resource areas - ahupua'a and
includes generational knowledge of site-specific kupuna and resource practitioners. In
the case of the Punalu'u proposed acquisition, mitigation through the Ka'u Aha Moku
Council could be applied.
The Pacific Islands Resource Management Institute (PIRMI) is an organization that is
uniquely suited to assisting with this type of mitigation. PIRMI is intimately aware of the
structure of the Aha Moku Council, as well as being an obj ective component to the
Punalu'u issue. We ask that the Hawaii County Council, in addressing possible solutions
to healing a community inadvertently fractured by Resolution 169-071ook at the
possibility of mitigation between conflicting perspectives through the Aha Moku System
- a system that was created by respected kupuna and practitioners geared to address
resource protection and issues that affect those resources including development and
coastal sustainability.
Attachment: S.B. 1853
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Swallow, Linda
From: Saved by Windows Internet Explorer 7
Sent: Sunday, May 06, 2007 6:18 AM
Subject: S61853 CD1
Report Title:
`Aha Moku Councils
Description:
Establishes an `aha kiole advisory committee to provide a framework on the formation of an
`aha moku council commission that shall serve as in an advisory capacity on all matters
regarding the management of the State's natural resources. Appropriates funds for the
advisory committee to carry out its duties. (CD1)
THE SENATE
S.B. N0.
1853
TWENTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE, 2007
S.D. 2
STATE OF HAWAII
H.D. 2
G.D. 1
A BILL FOR AN ACT
RELATING TO NATIVE HAWAIIANS.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:
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SECTION 1. The legislature finds that, over the past two hundred years, Hawaii has
seen and experienced severe changes. These changes include the deterioration of the
Hawaiian culture, language, values, and land tenure system, which have in part resulted in
the over-development of the coastline, alteration of fresh water streams, destruction of
the life-giving watersheds, decimation of the coral reefs, and the decline of endemic
marine and terrestrial species.
Native Hawaiian culture has knowledge that has been passed on for generations, and
still living for the purposes of perpetuating traditional protocols, caring for and
protecting the environment, and strengthening cultural and spiritual connections. It is
through the `aha moku council that native Hawaiians protected their environment and
sustained the abundance of resources that they depended upon for thousands of years.
Today, many Hawaiian communities are becoming revitalized by using the knowledge of
cultural practitioners that was passed down through kupuna, and experienced farmers
(mahi`ai) and fishers (lawai`a) to engage and enhance sustainability, subsistence, and
self-sufficiency.
Furthermore, many Hawaiian communities are interested, concerned, involved, willing, and
able to advise government agencies, organizations, and other interested groups in
integrating traditional knowledge and ahupua`a management practices.
The legislature further finds that on August 15-17, 2006, the Ho `ohanohano I Na
Kupuna Puwalu series began and native Hawaiian cultural and traditional practitioners who
are versed in lawai`a and mahi`ai, ocean, and land ahupua`a methods gathered to discuss
and bring forth the wisdom of the kupuna and ancestors. It was a gathering of empirical
knowledge handed down from generation to generation on traditional fishing, agriculture,
streams, fishponds, and land use methodology based on the ahupua`a system.
Representatives from thirty-seven moku in the State and over one hundred ahupua`a
practitioners, including kupuna and the acknowledged traditional experts of each moku, all
joined together to come forth with their mana`o and concerns.
The conclusion of Puwalu Ekahi was the creation of a resolution calling on native
Hawaiians to begin a process to uphold and continue Hawaiian traditional land and ocean
practices. Perpetuating and preserving the knowledge of the practitioners through the
continuation of the konohiki management, tk~e kapu system, and the creation of an `aha moku
and the ahupua`a management system was the consensus.
On November 8 and 9, 2006, Puwalu `Elea brought together educators, administrators,
cultural practitioners, and kupuna to discuss practices such as: values and the spiritual
connection between natural resources and native Hawaiians; the ahupua`a concept;
generational knowledge and learning; the importance of place names and mo`olelo; seasonal
closures and lunar calendars; fishing practices; Northwest Hawaiian islands; konohiki
connections; marine protected areas; `upena (nets); placed based kapu; limu; and pu`uhonua
concepts that could be developed as an educational framework to integrate this knowledge
into a curricula for all public, private, charter, and Hawaiian immersion schools in
Hawaii.
On December 19 and 20, 2006, Puwalu `Elua brought together major policymakers and
stakeholders in the protection of the Hawai `i ecosystem. Native Hawaiian practitioners
and experts in traditional methods of sustainability, government policymakers including
members of the legislature, state agency directors, environmental groups, educational
leaders, and Hawaiian community organizations discussed existing programs and their
successes and failures in community building. In conclusion, it was agreed that the
statutes and ordinances, and a framework for community consultation using the Hawaiian
perspective and traditional methods such as the ahupua`a management system was needed, and
the creation of the `aha moku councils should be established.
The purpose of this Act is to initiate the process to create a system of best
practices that is based upon the indigenous resource management practices of moku
(regional) boundaries, which acknowledges the natural contours of land, the specific
resources located within those areas, and the methodology necessary to sustain resources
and the community. The `aha moku council system will foster understanding and practical
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use of knowledge, including native Hawaiian methodology and expertise, to assure
responsible stewardship and awareness of the interconnectedness of the clouds, forests,
valleys, land, streams, fishponds, and sea. The council system will include the use of
community expertise and establish programs and projects to improve communication,
education, provide training on stewardship issues throughout the region (moku), and
increase education.
SECTION 2. (a) There is established the `aha kiole advisory committee to advise the
legislature in carrying out the purposes of this Act. The advisory committee shall
consist of eight members appointed by the yovernor without regard to sections 26-39 and
78-9, Hawaii Revised Statutes, from a list of nominations submitted by the Association of
Hawaiian Civic Clubs. The advisory committee members shall select the chairperson of the
committee and shall be reimbursed for expenses, including travel expenses, necessary for
the performance of their duties.
(b) The advisory committee shall:
(1) Explore, examine, and derive best practice models for the creation of an `aha
moku council system that will:
(A) Provide advisory input based upon the indigenous resource management
practices of each moku to state and county agencies;
(B) Aid in the development of a comprehensive set of best practices for natural
resources management;
(C) Foster the understanding and practical use of knowledge, including native
Hawaiian methodology and expertise;
(D) Ensure the future sustainable use of the State's marine, land, cultural,
agricultural, and natural resources;
(E) Enhance community education and cultural awareness; and
(F) Participate in the protection and preservation of the State's natural
resources;
(2) Engage in discussion with and participate in meetings and events held by the
various moku statewide to gain perspective and develop a consensus on establishing an `aha
moku council system with an `aha moku council commission;
(3) Establish an administrative structure for the creation of an `aha moku council
commission to oversee an `aha moku council system, which shall consist of eight `aha kiole
members, representing each island;
(9) Establish a standard eligibility criteria and selection process for each `aha
kiole member and the selection of a executive director;
(5) Establish goals and objectives for an `aha moku council commission to
accomplish, including benchmarks for long-term planning and sustainable objectives; and
(6) Establish a feasible operational budget for an `aha moku council commission to
conduct meetings, cover administrative expenses, and disseminate information and advice
for the creation of an `aha moku council system.
(c) The advisory committee shall submit a written interim report of its findings and
recommendations, including any proposed legislation, no later than twenty days prior to
the convening of the 2008 regular session. The advisory committee shall submit a written
final report of its findings and recommendations, including any proposed legislation, no
later than twenty days prior to the convening of the 2009 regular session.
(d) The department of land and natural resources shall provide support services to
the advisory committee as the advisory committee deems necessary.
(e) The `aha kiole advisory committee shall cease to exist on June 30, 2009.
SECTION 3. There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii
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the sum of $110,000 or so much thereof as riay be necessary for fiscal year 2007-2008 and
the same sum or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2008-2009 for
administrative costs related to carrying oi~t the duties of the `aha kiole advisory
committee, and for allowing each of the thirty-seven moku statewide to actively
participate and engage in discussion on the creation o£ an `aha moku council system.
The sums appropriated shall be expended by the department of land and natural
resources for the purposes of this Act.
SECTION 4. This Act shall take effect upon its approval; provided that section 3 of
this Act shall take effect on July 1, 2007.
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