by Donald Wood
Last updated: 9:40 AM ET, Wed October 18, 2023
The Hawaii Tourism Authority (HTA) and the Island of Hawaii
Visitors Bureau (IHVB) partnered to engage two community-based organizations to
support visitor education efforts and mitigate tourism impacts in Punaluu and
Kealakekua Bay.
The partnership is part of HTA’s newly launched Hawai‘i
Island Community-Based Action Stewardship Program, which funds a community-driven
approach to destination management as guided by its 2020-2025 Strategic Plan
and Hawaii Island Destination Management Action Plan (DMAP).
The Hawaii Island Community-Based Action Stewardship Program
builds on the success of the Keaukaha Steward Pilot Program and Community
Cultural-Based Education Program, which launched in July.
“HTA continues to collaborate with Hawaii Island residents
to better manage tourism’s impacts and support the initiatives they want to see
and actively engage in for their communities, such as in Punaluu and Kealakekua
Bay,” HTA Interim President and CEO Daniel Nāho‘opi‘I said.
“Reinvesting in these non-profit organizations to expand the
work they are doing to protect, preserve and educate people about the culture,
history and natural resources of these special places is our kuleana to the
community and those who visit,” Nāho‘opi‘I continued.
The HTA highlighted the two community-based organizations
selected to support education efforts and protect the local communities from
the impacts of tourism:
- Ka ‘Ohana O Honu‘apo (KOOH) was selected for its “Ka‘ū Hoa
Pili ‘Āina Training Program,” which will focus on training ten local stewards
in Punalu‘u on the practices of mālama ‘āina built on the foundation of cultural
practices and protocols, conservation and biological sciences, and place-based
messaging about the Ka‘ū coastline. The stewards will educate visitors about
the area and assist with data collection. KOOH will also hire a Mālama ‘Āina
Coordinator to oversee and organize the stewards’ training as guided by the
KOOH Board of Directors and with support from other local non-profit
organizations. KOOH will also continue working cohesively with the local
Hawai‘i Wildlife Fund which will handle HR management for the coordinator
position. While this ʻāina-based education program will initially cover the
fragile and highly visited coastline of Punaluʻu, the training will later be
expanded to the greater Kaʻū coastline and ma uka into the forests and
watersheds.
- Ho‘āla Kealakekua Nui, Inc. (HKN) was selected for its
project, “Building ‘Āina-Based Stewardship Programs for Kealakekua Bay.” HKN is
an indigenous-led non-profit organization that has been actively building
capacity to co-manage Kealakekua Bay State Historical Park and the surrounding
community. Through this project, HKN aims to educate visitors, residents and
commercial tour operators about the Kealakekua Bay Community Action Plan Code
of Conduct developed by the community on how to respectfully interact within
Kealakekua Bay; provide equipment to community volunteers actively restoring
coastal habitat during Hana Lima workdays; and train citizen scientists to
monitor the health of the area using a recently developed app called Kilokilo,
customized for Kealakekua Bay.
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