As many Hawaiians await Gov. David Ige’s release of its Community-Based Subsistence Fishing Areas proposal for public hearings and input, representatives of that effort were recently in New York City to accept global recognition for their work.
The two Hawaiian community groups who shared the $10,000 Equator Prize awarded earlier this year by the UN Development Programme and its partners were well-represented at the awards ceremony on Tuesday.
The delegation comprised Kelson Mac Poepoe, founder of Hui Malama o Moomomi on Molokai, and his wife Kamalu; Presley Wann, president, Kelii Alapai, vice president, and Emily Cadiz, program director, from Haena, of the Hui Makaainana o Makana on Kauai.
What we need is a political climate change, Wann said.
This recognition on a global stage puts a spotlight on Ige’s stated goal of ensuring that 30% of nearshore marine areas will be effectively managed by 2030, something that will not happen without the active support of rural communities and Native Hawaiian fishers, according to a press release.
The award comes during a year when the role of indigenous people and local communities in caring for their places and adapting to climate change is becoming a global imperative, the release said.
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