E Alu Pū: Moving Forward Together, Restoring Community Coastal Governance in Hawai’i

E Alu Pū means moving forward together or to gather like a school of fish. The E Alu Pū network links more than twenty-five communities from around Hawai`i who support one another in protecting and stewarding lands and waters. E Alu Pū communities gather to learn from and empower each other and enact formal collaborative governance of coastal resources in partnership with state resource management agencies, conservation non-profits and academics.

Presenters:

Mehana Vaughan (University of Hawai’i)

Kevin Chang (Kua ʻĀina Ulu ʻAuamo (KUA))

Key Themes:

Factors of Success in Community Conservation, Governance, Rights & Conflict, Indigenous Issues, Places & Spaces

Today, local communities across Hawai’i draw upon lessons of the past and come together to revive place-based practices that once supported sustainable livelihoods of communities throughout the Hawaiian archipelago. This vibrant grassroots movement of rural fishers, farmers, practitioners and community leaders are part of a multi-generational effort to mālama (care for) the biocultural resources that fed their communities and families for generations. This session brings together lawaiʻa (fishermen and women), cultural practitioners, community leaders, conservation professionals, advocates, and scholars who have worked together on these efforts for the past decade to share stories and lessons they have learned through participating in this movement.  

Some key challenges highlighted include tourism and recreational resource use, lack of legal mechanisms to differentiate community rights from those of the general public, escalating land values and real estate speculation making it difficult to keep communities living in place, opposition by commercial interests and lack of integration among state resource management agencies. Despite these challenges, movements to restore local, culturally grounded governance continue to grow through cross-community networks, dedicated leadership, and an emphasis on responsibility in harvesting and caring for coastal resources as an ongoing source of sustenance.

Presenters shared knowledge about the role of Community-Based biocultural management in Hawai’i in the nearshore environment along with the place-based fishing practices and stewardship efforts they have implemented to pass on traditional fishing knowledge and values. This session emphasizes how collective efforts of grassroots communities empowers community conservation, enhances community health and well-being, and ensures a future of healthy abundant resources for generations to come.