We should take a proactive approach to better understanding our local ecosystem and partner with Hawaiian agricultural practitioners to bring back some of what used to protect our island and its resources.
There are many local organizations that work tirelessly to protect our environment and would make great partners for our local government to learn from and better understand how we can protect it.
Source: Honolulu Civil Beat on 2022 Hawaii gubernatorial race
, Jul 3, 2020
People must understand what environmental protections do
We cannot expect people to just automatically know that this is what I should do because it's better for the environment, we need to be
actively teaching our communities, showing them why these options are not just better for our health but also better for our environment.
Source: Pacific Business News on 2018 Hawaii gubernatorial race
, Jul 31, 2018
If we take care of the land it will take care of our needs
Tupola pointed to traditional Hawaiian principles of taking care of the aina and not just taking from it. "If you don't go and take care of the commons, then you don't get to hunt, you don't get to fish," she said, describing the traditions. "But that
practice has been lost. Now people take, take, take, take, and use, use, use, use, but they don't give back."
Governor Ige pointed to the state's farm to school program as an initiative implemented under his watch to support local growers by buying
their produce to serve in public schools. Concerning the tension between development and the environment, Ige said, "I really think it's about balance."
"What we should do is invest in agriculture," she says. "It's a no-brainer." Tupola acknowledges
that building Hawaii's agriculture industry "won't happen overnight." The state has to invest money for infrastructure, like irrigation, and identify crops that can be lucrative enough to support an industry over the long term.
Tension between development & environment is about balance
Governor Ige said the state should continue to support agriculture, and he pointed to the state's farm to school program as an initiative implemented under his watch to support local growers by buying their produce to serve in public schools.
Concerning the tension between development and the environment, Ige said, "I really think it's about balance."
As an example, Ige points to a mediated settlement approved by the Hawaii Water Commission, which restores water rights to
Hawaiian homestead lands on Kauai. The 2017 Waimea Watershed Agreement was praised not only for providing water for farming on Department of Hawaiian Home Lands properties, but also for paving the way for
a renewable energy venture involving DHHL and the Kauai Island Utility Cooperative, which supplies electricity to the island.