Three Hawai‘i projects, including one that does work on Kaua‘i, are receiving grants worth more than $200,000 to protect coral reefs from the Coral Reef Conservation Fund, which is jointly managed by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and the
Three Hawai‘i projects, including one that does work on Kaua‘i, are receiving grants worth more than $200,000 to protect coral reefs from the Coral Reef Conservation Fund, which is jointly managed by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Coral Reef Conservation Program, according to a release yesterday.
The Community Conservation Network was awarded $62,000 to develop community based management programs on Kaua‘i, O‘ahu and the Big Island.
A message left for the executive director of the Community Conservation Network seeking comment was not returned by press time.
A release on the NFWF Web site says, “The Community Conservation Network will work with the Hawai‘i Division of Aquatic Resources and coastal communities to develop and implement a formal framework for public-private partnerships to conserve coral reefs in Hawai‘i.”
Eric Brown, a marine ecologist at the Kalaupapa National Historic Park on Moloka‘i, said yesterday that community stewardship programs are critical to the survival of coral reefs.
“Decentralizing the management of the coastal areas is a big step. That means the state government has to relinquish some control,” Brown said. “It’s needed because centralized government has not done a great job in this state, and I think they would admit that.”
A decentralized stewardship approach would be more effective than government control in more remote areas like Ha‘ena State Park on the North Shore, Brown said.
Empowering local people to play an active role in the future of their environment is particularly important in maintaining the health of coral reef systems.
Reefs have gained a lot of attention because they could become the first major ecosystems to deteriorate, he said.
“There’s a lot of focus on coral reefs, not just because of their natural beauty, but because they are really on the front lines of the ecosystems worldwide. They could really disappear in our lifetime, so there’s a lot of interest and focus in trying to protect them,” Brown said. “What do you want it to look like in 20 to 30 years? What steps do we need to take to make that happen?”
The fund is also providing nearly $88,000 to a University of Hawai‘i effort to pinpoint pollution sources in Maunalua Bay in Hawai‘i Kai and more than $69,000 to the state Department of Land and Natural Resources to nurture Moloka‘i community efforts to control invasive species.
In all, the fund distributed 15 grants totaling more than $2.2 million to conservation organizations and local governments in the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea.
• Michael Levine, staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 252) or via e-mail at mlevine@kauaipubco.com
