Identifying the Barriers and Desires for a Honouliuli Watershed Collaboration

Abstract

Mālama Puʻuloa looks to restore abundance to Puʻuloa (Pearl Harbor). One step to achieve this goal is through the creation of a watershed collaboration within the Honouliuli watershed. A watershed collaboration would lead to a healthier watershed, providing many beneficial ecosystem services. A collaboration would also serve as a connection between the communities in the area. Using a community-based approach to create this collaboration, we looked to understand and listen to the voices of community partners. There were three unknown factors identified: 1) if community partners knew what a watershed collaboration was, 2) if they were interested in being a part of a watershed collaboration, and 3) if there were any barriers to joining a watershed collaboration. We created outreach material and an interview process for Mālama Puʻuloa to use when moving forward with this project. We also compiled a list of key community partners and conducted a few interviews to begin the overall interview process. From the interviews, we were able to gauge some community interest and compile a list of potential barriers to joining a watershed collaboration. The conclusions of the project highlight some next-step actions to take in the future.