Waipi'o Valley: Towards Community Planning and Ahupua'a Management

Abstract

This plan has been prepared to explore community planning and ahupua’a management in Waipi’o Valley, on the Big Island of Hawai’i. This report is a culmination of a six-month long inclusive planning process that contains input from community organizations, resource management experts, government agencies, major landowners in the area, and Native Hawaiian cultural practitioners. Additionally, site visits were conducted to assess the existing condition in Waipi’o Valley and to identify key issues and concerns related to government plans being prepared.

The Final Environmental Impact Statement for the Lower Hamakua Ditch Watershed Plan characterizes the planning practicum activity as follows: “The community organization process in Waipi’o Valley to identify issues, develop and obtain data, evaluate alternatives, and identify and pursue actions to resolve problems will be facilitated by members of the University of Hawai’i, Department of Urban and Regional Planning Practicum. The members of the practicum will work with the communities in Waipi’o Valley to develop, as much as possible, a shared vision of the future and strategies for concerned action to achieve identified objectives. While the DOA [United States Department of Agriculture] and NRCS [Natural Resource Conservation Service] will provide the necessary funds for travel and subsistence to the UH group, the project proponents will not attempt to influence the community organization process” (USDA-NRCS, 1999, September, p. 148).