Notes from the field: A manager’s perspective

Background/Question/Methods /Resuts/Conclusions:

Background:  Cultural ecosystem services served as the foundation for traditional Hawaiian land management.  Nature’s life-supporting elements were deified and a relationship was established and enforced to ensure that kanaka (people) related to the aina (land) in a manner that respected the akua (deities).  If man cared for the environment and helped to enhance ecosystem services, the land would be abundant in resources and yield all that man needed to survive.  The introduction of new diseases in the 18th and 19th centuries decimated the Hawaiian population and disrupted traditional models of governance, economy and resource management.  Newcomers to the islands shifted the dominant worldview from one where man’s needs were subordinated to the best interest of the environmental services that supported life to one that promoted the exploitation and extraction of resources to create financial wealth.  This shift dramatically altered landscapes, depleted resources and strained relationships between the kanaka and aina.  Today, two centuries later, landscapes once lush with life-supporting resources now struggle to produce the resources and services to sustain an ever-growing population.

Question/Methods:  The Kamehameha Schools holds 365,000 acres in perpetual trust to create educational opportunities to improve the capability and well-being of people of Hawaiian ancestry.  In this talk, we will discuss difficult questions we must ask ourselves as asset managers who must fulfill fiduciary duties while also honoring cultural values in ecosystem management.  How does one balance these considerations?  Can these assets be managed to yield financial contributions to the Schools’ mission while also reversing two hundred years of environmental decline, restoring the health of ecosystems and reviving stewardship values amongst today’s beneficiaries and generations to come?

Results/Conclusions: In 2000, Kamehameha Schools adopted a land management strategy to achieve an optimal balance of economic, environmental, community, educational and cultural returns.   This integrated management strategy sets forth a vision of “Vibrant Communities, Thriving Lands” that is to be achieved through the implementation of strategic agricultural, natural resources management and cultural resources management plans.  We will share some of our approaches and experiences from the past decade.  Results have exceeded expectations and are giving rise to new management methodologies, decision-making tools, as well as a new dashboard to reflect outcomes across a broad spectrum of sustainability indicators.