Marine Conservation Biology - Hawaii

Conserving Marine Biodiversity in the World’s Most Remote Island Chain

Native Hawaiian Perspectives

Policy, scientific, and community initiatives are increasingly eliciting the participation of Native Hawaiian perspectives in marine conservation and management initiatives: the 2006 Magnuson-Stevens Reauthorizations, the draft Hawaii Ocean Resources Management Plan, and the Hawaiian Puwalu series.  Seeking the input of local peoples into marine management reflects the growing recognition that intimate ecological knowledge held by local people, indigenous or otherwise, provides exceptional insight into place-based issues, community and ecosystems-level processes, and viable, often tested, options for management.  While no single “Native Hawaiian perspective” exists – lest we mischaracterize a complex culture as  one-dimensional – Hawaiians participating in marine management are putting forth a rather unified voice based on overarching principles of traditional environmental management practices.   

Place:  The Hawaiian Islands are the piko (navel, birthplace) of the Hawaiian people.  Ties to place run deep— individual interactions with the ocean historically centered around one’s ahupua`a (land division from pelagic ocean to mountain top), and others were expected to ask permission at places beyond their own kuleana (responsibility, in this sense tied to a place) Island or archipelago-wide councils of expert practitioners (konohiki), representatives from various ahupua`a might come together for larger issues.  Always, representatives were seen as tied to a place. 

Oceans: Inextricably linked to Hawaiian history and culture, the ocean is seen as the lifeblood of Hawaiian people and figures in cultural narratives as their home, mother, icebox, backyard, and responsibility.  To the Hawaiian people, there are deep ties to place.  The Hawaiian Islands are the birthplace of the Hawaiian culture, and individuals view their responsibility 

Practice: Ancient management practices balanced ocean resource use with the need to preserve the resources for the sustenance needs of future generations.  Ecosystems-based management, while a new paradigm to Western thought, has long been an element of Native Hawaiian worldview.  Mauka-makai (connectivity from mountaintops to pelagic fisheries), kuleana (responsibility), konohiki (expert practitioners), ahupua`a (land divisions from sea to mountaintop, foci of governance, community, and connection to the environment), malama (to care for the `aina, the land), kapu (taboo, Hawaiian law), and pono (balance achieved by kuleana) are all ideas central to Native Hawaiian perspectives on marine conservation and management.