 |
|
Stewardship of Our Natural Environment
Overview. The fundamental basis for Hawaii’s long-term economic well-being is a healthy environment. Our attractiveness as a tourist destination, our water supply, our protection from natural disasters such as hurricanes, and the quality of life for our residents, depend completely on Hawaii’s healthy forests, open spaces, beautiful coastlines, and healthy reefs. Hawai`i plays a leadership role in the world in conservation biology research and higher education, invasive species prevention and control, and public-private partnerships for conservation management. Hawaii’s natural environment offers many business and job opportunities such as forest management and solid waste research and management. Yet Hawaii’s environment is highly vulnerable. Impacts to our natural environment have increased significantly in past decades with the significant increases in our resident population and our visitor numbers. Without active preservation and protection of these invaluable state assets, our visitor numbers may decline, our economy will suffer, and the quality of life for the people of Hawai`i will decline. Invasive Species Threat. One of the single greatest threats to Hawaii’s economy, natural environment, and the health and lifestyle of its residents and visitors is the continuous introduction of invasive weeds, animals, insects and diseases. Hawai`i is known to the world as a paradise, with thousands of native plants and animals found nowhere else on Earth, and the absence of many pests found elsewhere such as snakes, biting sand flies, and diseases like West Nile Virus, and bird flu. Yet many of these pests are only one unnoticed shipment away, hitchhiking in cargo shipped into Hawai`i through our airports and harbors. Witness our latest unwelcome invaders: coqui frogs, little fire ants, stinging nettle caterpillars, wiliwili gall wasp, as well as repeated snake sightings. Hawai`i is exceptionally susceptible to invasion, by one measure having a rate per unit area of non-indigenous species introduction and establishment 500 times that of the rest of the United States. Inadequate Border Inspections. Hawai`i Department of Agriculture carries the State’s responsibility for border inspections, yet is dangerously below capacity to carry out these duties adequately, receiving less than 1% of the State general fund for all its agricultural responsibilities, of which pest inspection and quarantine is only a small fraction. The cost to control invasive species already in Hawai`i runs in the tens of millions of dollars annually: one need merely look at the cost to Hawai`i residents of controlling termites to begin to understand the enormity of actual costs for current invaders and potential costs for threatening invaders. The ongoing cost of coping with an established invasive species can be much greater than the cost of preventing its establishment in the first place. The financial impact of just two pests in Hawai‘i--the Mediterranean fruit fly and the Formosan ground termite--is about $450,000,000 annually. The Red Imported Fire Ant which now threatens to invade Hawai`i costs Texas $300 million annually; $2 billion nationally. The cost of prevention of invasive species, while not inexpensive, has been shown repeatedly to be exponentially less than the cost to control those species once established.[1] No Regulation of New Invasive Plant Importation. The State of Hawai`i Department of Agriculture employs a clean list approach to new introductions of non-domestic animal species, i.e., imports of animals to Hawai`i are strictly prohibited unless the animal is on one of two approved lists of animals allowed to be imported. However, Hawaii’s regulation of plant importations is the opposite, i.e., all new plant imports are effectively permitted unless the plant is specifically identified on a very short list of noxious weeds. (HRS §150A-6.1 and -6.2; HAR §4-68) This has resulted in hundreds of invasive plant species such as miconia and gorse becoming established in Hawaii in the past several decades that have cost millions of dollars annually to control and have caused significant losses to our agriculture, ranching, visitor and other industries. Declining Health of Marine Systems. The nearshore fishery of the Main Hawaiian Islands has decreased 75% over the past 100 years due to a combination of over fishing, destructive fishing practices such as lay gill nets and scuba spearfishing, illegal fishing practices, and habitat degradation from invasive species and polluted runoff (from development, aging sewage systems and treatment facilities, and channelized streams). This decline is continuing. Marine Managed Areas have been shown to restore nearshore fisheries in more than 80 places around the world where they have been scientifically designed and diligently enforced. In addition, it has been demonstrated that fish even thrive in managed areas in degraded habitat over better, unmanaged habitat.[2] Non-PointSourcePollution. Terrestrial-based runoff into the ocean is a significant source of harm to our estuarine, coral reefs and marine ecosystems. The sources for this runoff come from both point sources (storm drains and channels, leaking sewer pipes, old septic systems and cesspools) and non-point sources (urban and agricultural areas). Point sources are regulated directly through permit requirements at both the State (Department of Health) and the counties (normally a public works agency). Non-point sources on the other hand do not receive the same degree of regulation and generally rely on varying degrees of cooperation from individuals and businesses to institute "best-management strategies" to reduce runoff pollution from yards, golf courses, agricultural fields, and businesses. Hawai`i has one of the lowest rates of sewering and effective septic systems in the U.S. Inadequate Environmental Enforcement Support. Significant population increases, dwindling resources and the creation and/or expansion of resource areas (i.e. parks, forests, hunting, hiking trails, restricted areas, fishing and recreational boating) increase the need for regulation and compliance in order for the public to safely and wisely utilize our unique natural resources. Some of Hawaii’s resource users intentionally violate Hawai`i environmental regulation, acting as if Hawaii’s unique natural resources are unlimited and can withstand unregulated pressure. Law enforcement officers are committed to protecting our resources and upholding environmental laws. Much work goes into apprehending violators and building a case to prosecute them in our court systems. However, these cases rarely result in significant sentences, fines or imprisonment even with flagrant violators. Yet our existing court system doesn’t provide adequate opportunity to train judges and prosecutors on the seriousness of the violations. Solid Waste/Landfills. Hawai‘i is a small, self-contained archipelago with limited land area. Space in landfills for Hawaii’s solid waste is rapidly running out. Hawai‘i needs to find long-term solutions to solid waste management which will meet the needs of an island community in a cost-effective, environmentally sound manner. [1] See Trey Huffman, “Invasive Species: The Economics of Prevention, Control and Environmental Impact,” May 2002.
|
|
|||||
|
|
|
