Mauka

From Mauka to Makai: Community protection from the mountains to the sea

He was named Bert Weeks, and he was a Hawaii Marine Fellow for the Conservancy. Both of us participated in E Alu P?, a meeting of tribal and local conservationists and practitioners from across the Pacific, which took place in collaboration with the IUCNWS. On my way with a mission of Emerald Edge associates - the biggest unspoilt coastline rain forest in the planet - I experienced how our investments in helping communities in the countryside can be strengthened in our nature protection work by getting to know similar endeavors around the planet.

He heard about my interest in community-based nature protection and the work of the Conservancy in Southeast Alaska to support community-based forest and spatial development work. As a fisheries expert, I said that I wanted "to bring our work into the sea " and was particularly interested in finding out more about the sea areas administered by Hawaii.

"Can you concentrate your scholarship on any ocean protection projects? "This doesn't even have to be a maritime protection scheme. Mauka to Makai - from the mountains to the sea, and everything in between. Described the mauka-makai concept the next morning, the group traveled to Kahana Bay to voluntarily participate in the rehabilitation and upkeep of Huilua, the community's own fishpond.

Fishing lakes are old Hwaiian system of reefs, which use cliffs to allow the penetration of coastline waters while catching them. Huilua fishing lake, probably more than 400 years old, was created at the estuary of the fresh and kahana stream to blend the salt and fresh waters in the lake, thus providing a nutrient-rich environment for young species.

At the Emerald Edge I could not help but see the similarities to my own work. As the Pacific has undergone vital phases in both saltwater and fresh water, it has always been a naturally occurring and evident link between the land and sea environment at the emerald green edge. There is nothing new about a tack for conserving fish, which takes both into account.

However, this approach - with the way how managements, financing possibilities and know-how are often separated between the land and maritime sector - remains a major regional challenges. Before the journey, I knew that due to our common fish stocks and similar crops, there are probably common ways to learn about the integral protection of the Emerald Edge area.

The fact that I saw Hwaiian wildlife as part of this journey - as well as other unbelievable instances of collaborative nature protection throughout the Pacific - enabled me to identify other possibilities beyond our laughter cultures to make useful juxtapositions of challenge and succes. Those whom I encountered and the histories I listened to showed me the need to look inward - how we can leverage our dynamism with land and freshwater-based endeavors to incorporate maritime initiative as a logical expansion of our community-based work in Southeast Alaska - and it also encourages me to look outwards - on sharing knowledge about mauka on Makai from seaside municipalities around the world.