Final Report: Science Needs Assessment to Support Management of Loko Iʻa (Hawaiian Fishpond) Resources and Practices Critical to the Native Hawaiian Community
Dates
Publication Date
2020-12-30
Citation
Rosanna Alegado, 2020-12-30, Final Report: Science Needs Assessment to Support Management of Loko Iʻa (Hawaiian Fishpond) Resources and Practices Critical to the Native Hawaiian Community: .
Summary
This project sought to support, facilitate, assess and synthesize the research needs and information gaps of loko i‘a across the Hawaiian Islands to provide information for resource managers to adapt to the impacts of a changing climate. Through the process of developing a Loko I’a Needs Assessment the project achieved all of its proposed original objectives. This report represents the first comprehensive compilation of the research ideas and needs within the community of fishpond managers, landowners, and stewardship organizations to inform adaptation of fishpond practices toward their resilience, adaptation, and sustainability in the face of a changing climate. This project derived findings from notes recorded at the following gatherings [...]
Summary
This project sought to support, facilitate, assess and synthesize the research needs and information gaps of loko i‘a across the Hawaiian Islands to provide information for resource managers to adapt to the impacts of a changing climate. Through the process of developing a Loko I’a Needs Assessment the project achieved all of its proposed original objectives. This report represents the first comprehensive compilation of the research ideas and needs within the community of fishpond managers, landowners, and stewardship organizations to inform adaptation of fishpond practices toward their resilience, adaptation, and sustainability in the face of a changing climate.
This project derived findings from notes recorded at the following gatherings of the Hui Mālama Loko Iʻa: po‘o meeting at Punaluʻu (Oʻahu) in March 2019, annual gathering at Moanui (Molokaʻi) in May 2019 (HMLI, 2019), and poʻo meeting at Moku o Loʻe (Oʻahu) in November 2019. Attendees included representative leaders from loko iʻa at the poʻo (leadership) meetings, and additional staff, interns, community partners, and various collaborators at the annual gathering. The meetings were convened and facilitated by KUA and consisted of group discussions, break-out groups, and plenary share back times, as well as hands-on restoration work. Break-out groups were facilitated in focus areas that Hui Mālama Loko Iʻa collectively articulated in 2018. Following the meeting, break-out group notes were digitally compiled, and we conducted a simple interpretative thematic analysis using the raw notes which informed the final needs assessment.
Critically the project team applied a framework developed by the HMLI organizing the assessment process around six focus areas:
1. Loina Welo – Cultural foundation
2. Hoʻāla Hou – Reawakening the physical loko iʻa
3. Iʻa – Resource that informs the function of loko iʻa
4. Education – Impact of loko iʻa on all learners
5. Hui Sharing – Functioning as a network
6. He Hui Hoʻokahi – A group singularly united
These six interconnected focus areas reflect how kiaʻi (stewards) view their role and the role of loko iʻa in sustaining the physical, ecological, and spiritual health of the Hawaiian Islands. Without this holistic kiaʻi centered approach to understanding resilience and adaptation it would not have been possible to develop a climate needs assessment that represents a relevant and meaningful compilation of loko iʻa knowledge and priorities. For a synthesis and analysis of the detailed results in each of these focus areas as well as a full picture of the needs research questions, ideas, and information gaps identified by kiaʻi loko please refer to the Loko I’a Needs Assessment report. The inclusive and holistic nature of the report ultimately represents the diversity of future potential work that can be done to perpetuate these places and practices.
This assesment is the first version of a living document that will evolve as there are changes in the needs, opportunities, and conditions contextualizing loko iʻa in Hawaiʻi. We hope this report activates new and richer collaborations between organizations that directly mālama loko iʻa and auxiliary supporters such as academic institutions, policy advocates, funders, food system workers, and volunteer organizations.
