SB3018 Relating to Traditional Hawaiian Practice

SB3018  Relating to Traditional Hawaiian Practice – Exempts the traditional and customary practice of kalo farming on kuleana lands by native Hawaiians from the requisite permit for withdrawal, diversion, impoundment, or consumptive use of water and for construction or alteration of a stream diversion works.  This bill will be heard in the Senate HWN/WTL and then JDC committees.  The date for the first hearing was FRIDAY, JANUARY 31, 2020

·         This is a good bill and relieves the burden of the water permit process for some taro growers; you may want to consider testimony in support with amendments to extend the exemption to all wetland taro farms for several reasons

-          they all feed our communities

-          both Hawaiian and non-Hawaiian taro farmers have been part of the larger effort to restore stream flow throughout the islands for the last four decades

-          our strength is in working together

-          most taro growers fall into low income brackets (as defined by the state); will this create a heavier burden of permit costs for those not covered by this bill?

·         The bill also raises a question which may come up in the hearings:  How will this affect current water case allocations and decisions and how will community’s balance out stream flow use among all taro growers along each stream or auwai?   Haloa needs water wherever he grows. 

Also, SB3038 and HB2673 are as much about climate change as food security and protecting our islands from new pests.  Here’s why:

·         Taro systems are provide buffers that protect riparian (streamside) areas and communities from flood damage.

·         They capture sediment before it reaches our reefs

·         They are a part of indigenous solutions to climate change

·         They provide alternative habitat for Hawaiʻi’s freshwater native fish and waterbirds; for oʻopu, they are part of the passageway as they migrate to the ocean and back up streams during their life cycles. 

 

 

SB3018  Relating to Traditional Hawaiian Practice – Exempts the traditional and customary practice of kalo farming on kuleana lands by native Hawaiians from the requisite permit for withdrawal, diversion, impoundment, or consumptive use of water and for construction or alteration of a stream diversion works.  This bill will be heard in the Senate HWN/WTL and then JDC committees.  The date for the first hearing was FRIDAY, JANUARY 31, 2020

Protect the root culture of Hawaiʻi, model an ESG format to governance and support native bio-diverse ways that have successfully sustained these islands since the first century.   At Mauiʻs Ahupuaʻa Summit on January 31, 2020 it was discussed by worldwide ESG investors, how the Hawaiian Way of Life can actually reverse the threatening effects of climate change and global disaster. 

Supporting this bill relieves the burden of the water permit process for some taro growers who feed our communities.  Most taro growers fall into the financial brackets of federally recognized poverty levels, realize that our strength comes from working together to achieve greater results, and both Hawaiian and non-Hawaiian taro farmers have been part of the larger effort to restore stream flow throughout the islands for the last four decades.

Taro systems prevent erosion, capture sediment before it reaches out reefs, as well as contributing to the solution base regarding climate change, are freshwater native habitats for Hawaiʻiʻs fish, and provide flood buffer zones, protecting streamside areas.

Click here to submit testimony:

https://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/measure_indiv.aspx?billtype=SB&billnumber=3018&year=2020