Traditional & Customary Practices Report for Manaʻe, Molokaʻi

Abstract

Over the years, the people of Manaʻe (East Molokaʻi) have witnessed a notable decline in the health of their watershed. A significant part of this declining health is the degradation of the mauka native forests, which has subsequently had a drastic effect on all of the ahupuaʻa of Manaʻe, from mauka to makai. Ensuring the well-being of these mauka areas is essential to the preservation and perpetuation of Native Hawaiian traditional and customary practices carried out in the moku (district), given the symbiotic relationship between the people and their ʻāina. Thus, Manaʻe residents are passionate about protecting their moku and the resources that sustain them. It is their protectiveness of their island – that often puts them at odds with each other in deciding how best to care for her – which is at the core of this report. In 2013, the East Molokaʻi Watershed Partnership presented the draft East Slope Watershed Start-Up Management Plan (“East Slope Management Plan”) to the Manaʻe community, and proposed the possibility of protecting Manaʻe’s mauka rainforests with an expanded fencing project. That plan was based on the recognition that the degradation of these mauka areas was largely attributable to an influx of habitat altering invasive plant and animal species that have significantly impacted native forests, the life that inhabits them, and the freshwater they foster. The proposed fence has elicited strong reactions from the Manaʻe community – both for and against such a fence. It also has caused some community members to call for additional planning that looks at the entire moku and all of its ahupuaʻa, from mauka to makai. In response to these strong reactions, the planning process to create this report was undertaken.