SR58.DOC

WHEREAS, article XII, section 7, of the Hawaii State Constitution, and sections 1-1 and 7-1, Hawaii Revised Statutes, protect traditional and customary native Hawaiian rights; and

WHEREAS, article XI, section 1, of the Hawaii State Constitution establishes a public trust responsibility to conserve and protect Hawaii's natural resources for the benefit of present and future generations, and that, pursuant to article XII, section 7, of the Hawaii State Constitution, this public trust responsibility extends to the protection of traditional and customary native Hawaiian rights; and

WHEREAS, the State of Hawaii cannot regulate out of existence native Hawaiian traditional and customary rights, including the native Hawaiian tradition of kuleana (responsibility) to malama ‘aina (care for the land and resources); and

WHEREAS, however, native Hawaiian traditional and customary rights and native Hawaiian responsibility to malama ‘aina are being regulated out of existence; and

WHEREAS, Hawaii's land title documents state, "koe nae ke kuleana o na kanaka", which translates to "reserving the rights of native tenants"; and

WHEREAS, the Organic Act and the Admission Act thrust privately owned traditional Hawaiian fisheries into the public domain but did not alter the vested fishing rights of hoa‘aina (native tenants) and the konohiki (traditional Hawaiian land management system) management of fishing resources; and

WHEREAS, the State's responsibility to native Hawaiians with respect to ceded lands includes submerged lands and overlying waters between the highest wash of the waves during the season when the waves are highest and the three nautical mile limit of the State's police power and management authority; and

WHEREAS, ahupua‘a are defined to include all lands mauka to makai, as well as fishponds or shoreline reef fisheries, and thus enable hoa‘aina to continue stewardship practices to sustain themselves and live off the land; and

WHEREAS, impacts associated with climate change, such as sea level rise, threaten coastal ecosystems and agriculture production by intensifying saltwater intrusion into groundwater systems, wetlands, estuaries, and low-lying lo‘i kalo; and

WHEREAS, traditional Hawaiian management based on expert knowledge of konohiki is a form of adaptive management that is most needed to respond to uncertain and unpredictable effects on ecological systems caused by the climate crisis; and

WHEREAS, the Kanaka Maoli ahupua‘a system of land and ocean resource management has been identified as one of six known sustainable systems on the planet; and

WHEREAS, the success of traditional management principles is evidenced by the abundant resources, highly developed social institutions, and remarkably high population that inhabited these islands at the time of Western contact; and

WHEREAS, site-specific and resource-based methodology that balances land and ocean resources is needed to sustain healthy thriving communities; and

WHEREAS, our islands have finite resources as reflected in the ‘olelo no‘eau, "he wa‘a he moku, he moku he wa‘a", which translates to "The canoe is our island, and the island is our canoe"; and

WHEREAS, the Legislature recognizes the need for konohiki management to restore the State's food self-sufficiency in order to become a more sustainable community; and

WHEREAS, the World Food Summit of 1996 defined food security as the condition by which "all people, at all times, have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life", and that this translates into physical and economic access to nutritious and healthful foods; and

WHEREAS, our island state imports approximately eighty-five percent of all food consumed, which results in extreme food insecurity; and

WHEREAS, the Legislature declares that it shall be a goal of the State to meet those standards to become food secure and self-sufficient by the year 2025; and

WHEREAS, traditional lands, such as fishponds, konohiki fisheries, kula lands, and lo‘i kalo, can be utilized to provide sustainable food production for the State in order to establish a more resilient economy; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-seventh Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2014, that the Office of Hawaiian Affairs and the Department of Land and Natural Resources is urged to establish a Traditional Land Use Task Force that shall be placed within the Office of Hawaiian Affairs for administrative purposes; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force is urged to include:

(1) The Chief Executive Officer of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, or the Chief Executive Officer's designee;

(2) The Chairperson of the Board of Land and Natural Resources, or the Chairperson's designee;

(3) The Chairperson of the Hawaiian Homes Commission, or the Chairperson's designee;

(4) The Chairperson of the Board of Agriculture, or the Chairperson's designee;

(5) The Executive Director of the ‘Aha Moku Advisory Committee, or the Executive Director's designee;

(6) The Chair of the Taro Purity Task Force, or the Chair's designee; and

(7) A representative from Kamehameha Schools; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Traditional Land Use Task Force is requested to determine the feasibility of establishing traditional land use districts; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Traditional Land Use Task Force is requested to determine the applicable kuleana of the Task Force, which may include recommendations for a regulatory scheme and adaptive planning for climate change as well as identification of an entity or agency to have governance powers; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Traditional Land Use Task Force is requested to develop a means or methodology to protect traditional lands while the feasibility of establishing traditional land use districts is under review; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Traditional Land Use Task Force is requested to identify possible districts, including but not limited to fishponds, konohiki fisheries, kula lands, lo‘i kalo, sacred valleys, and historic sites, and establish a process for designating traditional land, as well as any criteria to be considered; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Traditional Land Use Task Force is requested to report its findings and recommendations, including any proposed legislation, to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2015; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Chairperson of the Board of Trustees of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Chairperson of the Board of Land and Natural Resources, Chairperson of the Hawaiian Homes Commission, Chairperson of the Board of Agriculture, Chairperson of the Aha Moku Advisory Committee, Chairperson of the Taro Purity Task Force, and Chairperson of the Board of Trustees of Kamehameha Schools.

	OFFERED BY:	_____________________________

Report Title:

Traditional Land Use Task Force; Office of Hawaiian Affairs

THE SENATE	S.R. NO.	58
TWENTY-SEVENTH LEGISLATURE, 2014
STATE OF HAWAII