Rising above politics to solve the conservation emergency

As members of Hawaii’s conservation community, we ask — indeed, implore — the candidates for governor and other offices to commit publicly to bold policy and funding solutions to the two biggest conservation emergencies that our islands face: woefully underfunded natural resources programs and the climate crisis.

Funding for conservation programs, primarily led by the state Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR), is shamefully low. Despite dedicated leadership and staff, the agency has an impossible mandate of managing and protecting nearly 1.3 million acres of public lands, 3 million acres of state ocean waters, and 750 miles of coastline (the fourth longest in the country), on a shoestring — less than 1.1 percent of the state’s budget. This is an embarrassment.

To save Hawaii’s quality of life, our health and our environment, we must fully support and fund DLNR’s mission, including:

>> Restoration and management of state parks, beaches, and public fishing areas;

>> Conservation of forests, freshwater, and natural area reserves;

>> Protection of wildlife and aquatic species;

>> Law enforcement;

>> Cultural preservation;

>> Biosescurity through prevention of invasive species and rapid response;

>> Management of outdoor recreation.

Political leaders must urgently invest in Hawaii’s conservation programs. That’s why a hui of leading conservationists has unified to call for doubling DLNR’s budget over the next two years. Now is the time to invest in our future.

The second conservation emergency — the climate crisis — needs equally urgent action. Measurements of CO2 at Mauna Loa observatory in April and May were the highest monthly averages ever recorded. We are cooking ourselves and our children in a thermal blanket of greenhouse gases. And we are drowning. The recent flooding on Oahu, Maui, and Kauai has been tragic. Hawaii is facing a future of record-breaking king tides, torrential rain and scorching days.

With tourism and construction booming, and unemployment at an all-time low, we have a unique window in time to step forward and make strategic investments in our future. Our social well-being depends on a beautiful, healthy environment. Yet we are not investing nearly enough to prepare us for the impacts of the climate crisis. Hawaii has a kuleana and opportunity to be a leader in climate change mitigation, adaptation, and resilience for our country and the world — and this will take bold action by our political leaders.

With aloha ‘äina, Hawaii glowed in the global spotlight in 2016 when the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) brought more than 10,000 conservation leaders from around the world to Honolulu for the World Conservation Congress.

We celebrated the success of that historic event, and now our political leadership must courageously carry forward the lessons learned from that gathering. Hawaii should adopt IUCN’s visionary approach of using “nature based solutions” — strategic conservation, management, and restoration — as a vital tool to address the climate crisis. For example, planting trees pulls CO2 out of the air. Healthier forests also protect our drinking water supplies. More trees cool down urban areas. Large-scale reforestation will help the islands avoid a frightening future.

Major investments in nature-based solutions will also create home-grown, stable jobs, such as watershed managers, enforcement officers, environmental youth corps, on-site protected area ambassadors, scientific researchers, and cultural and environmental educators and trainers.

We ask our political leaders to rise above politics and raise DLNR’s budget to match its vast responsibilities. We ask them to use IUCN’s “Nature Based Solutions” to help address the climate crisis. We ask them to fulfill their trust responsibilities to future generations by embracing malama aina. The time is now.

Denise Antolini, left, is a Pūpūkea resident; Chipper Wichman, center, is a resident of Hā‘ena, Kaua‘i; Sam “Ohu” Gon III is kama‘āina from ‘Ālewa, O‘ahu.