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ʻĀina Momona, Honua Au Loli —Productive Lands, Changing World: Using the Hawaiian Footprint to Inform Biocultural Restoration and Future Sustainability in Hawai‘i

Author

Listed:
  • Samuel M. Gon

    (The Nature Conservancy of Hawai‘i, Honolulu, HI 96817, USA)

  • Stephanie L. Tom

    (The Nature Conservancy of Hawai‘i, Honolulu, HI 96817, USA)

  • Ulalia Woodside

    (The Nature Conservancy of Hawai‘i, Honolulu, HI 96817, USA)

Abstract

Pre-Western-contact Hawai‘i stands as a quintessential example of a large human population that practiced intensive agriculture, yet minimally affected native habitats that comprised the foundation of its vitality. An explicit geospatial footprint of human-transformed areas across the pre-contact Hawaiian archipelago comprised less than 15% of total land area, yet provided 100% of human needs, supporting a thriving Polynesian society. A post-contact history of disruption of traditional land use and its supplanting by Western land tenure and agriculture culminated in a landscape less than 250 years later in which over 50% of native habitats have been lost, while self-sufficiency has plummeted to 15% or less. Recapturing the ‘āina momona (productive lands) of ancient times through biocultural restoration can be accomplished through study of pre-contact agriculture, assessment of biological and ecological changes on Hawaiian social-ecological systems, and conscious planned efforts to increase self-sufficiency and reduce importation. Impediments include the current tourism-based economy, competition from habitat-modifying introduced species, a suite of agricultural pests severely limiting traditional agriculture, and climate changes rendering some pre-contact agricultural centers suboptimal. Modified methods will be required to counteract these limitations, enhance biosecurity, and diversify agriculture, without further degrading native habitats, and recapture a reciprocal Hawaiian human-nature relationship.

Suggested Citation

  • Samuel M. Gon & Stephanie L. Tom & Ulalia Woodside, 2018. "ʻĀina Momona, Honua Au Loli —Productive Lands, Changing World: Using the Hawaiian Footprint to Inform Biocultural Restoration and Future Sustainability in Hawai‘i," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(10), pages 1-21, September.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:10:y:2018:i:10:p:3420-:d:171983
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Kawika B. Winter & Kamanamaikalani Beamer & Mehana Blaich Vaughan & Alan M. Friedlander & Mike H. Kido & A. Nāmaka Whitehead & Malia K.H. Akutagawa & Natalie Kurashima & Matthew Paul Lucas & Ben Nyber, 2018. "The Moku System: Managing Biocultural Resources for Abundance within Social-Ecological Regions in Hawaiʻi," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(10), pages 1-19, October.
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    Cited by:

    1. Leah L. Bremer & Kim Falinski & Casey Ching & Christopher A. Wada & Kimberly M. Burnett & Kanekoa Kukea-Shultz & Nicholas Reppun & Gregory Chun & Kirsten L.L. Oleson & Tamara Ticktin, 2018. "Biocultural Restoration of Traditional Agriculture: Cultural, Environmental, and Economic Outcomes of Lo‘i Kalo Restoration in He‘eia, O‘ahu," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(12), pages 1-21, November.
    2. Kevin Chang & Kawika B. Winter & Noa Kekuewa Lincoln, 2019. "Hawai‘i in Focus: Navigating Pathways in Global Biocultural Leadership," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(1), pages 1-9, January.
    3. Mapuana C. K. Antonio & Samantha Keaulana & LeShay Keli‘iholokai & Kaitlynn Felipe & Jetney Kahaulahilahi Vegas & Waimānalo Pono Research Hui & Waimānalo Limu Hui & Ke Ola O Ka ‘Āina Research Team and, 2023. "A Report on the Ke Ola O Ka ‘Āina: ‘Āina Connectedness Scale," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(4), pages 1-13, February.
    4. Carter A. Hunt & Melanie E. Jones & Ernesto Bustamante & Carla Zambrano & Carolina Carrión-Klier & Heinke Jäger, 2023. "Setting Up Roots: Opportunities for Biocultural Restoration in Recently Inhabited Settings," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(3), pages 1-18, February.

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