Tracing Social-Ecologial Relationships: Hāʻena, Kaua‘i, Hawai‘i

Abstract

Natural resources are shared by heterogeneous populations. Each subgroup of resource users within a population has a different perspective of the resource's health, and their responsibility to steward that natural resource. This research was conducted under a premise that heterogeneous populations of resource users can arrive at a shared understanding of a social-ecological system's current state if they have a shared understanding of its history. Two established frameworks were operationalized to methodically examine the history of any social-ecological system. This is a case study about historical events that occurred in Hāʻena, Kaua‘i between 1975 and 2015. One framework exposed the introduction of actors and their relationships to the resource system over time. The benefits each resource user group receives from the ecosystem were also identified. The second framework linked related events in a way that revealed the historical management transitions for each of the major fresh water management areas in the social-ecological system. This broad historical understanding was used to create social time series variables from qualitative data that were tested for statistical correlation to existing ecological time series data. Correlations identified through multiple regression analysis showed Hurricane ‘Iniki may have had a negative influence on coastal salinity in Hāʻena, and positive influence on groundwater levels. Groundwater level is negatively related to well chlorides, which points to impending saltwater intrusion of the well. This research introduces a mixed method approach for understanding the social-ecological relationships within a system. These methods may be useful for disparate groups of people coming together to perpetuate a shared natural resource. Decision makers and concerned citizens can use research outputs to better understand how historical events shaped current issues and the perspective of different actors. The results of the correlational analysis of qualitative and quantitative data can be useful to guide environmental management based on scientific inquiry.