E ola i ka wai! Celebrate World Water Month by taking action to protect our wai

by Wayne Tanaka, Chapter Director | Reading time: 2.5 minutes

World Water Month is upon us, and we have an important opportunity to celebrate and protect our precious wai, by calling on the Governor to appoint a new water commissioner who can objectively and thoughtfully facilitate the implementation of the Water Code, and uphold the public trust in water. 

As the steward of our islands’ most precious resource, the Water Commission is arguably one of the most important decisionmaking bodies in state government. Unfortunately, for the majority of its existence, the Commission was notoriously beset by political influence that inhibited its work in favor of the status quo - leading to the continued monopolization of stream and groundwater by plantations and later, real estate development interests such as those in Maui Komohana.  

Fortunately, over the past decade and particularly under the leadership of former water deputy Kaleo Manuel, the Commission and its staff have made unprecedented strides in the implementation of the water code, and the protection of public trust purposes and beneficial public uses against corporate water hoarding and waste. 

Accordingly, we must ensure that water commissioners possess the ability to objectively and diligently facilitate the Water Commission’s ongoing and crucial work, if we wish to protect our future water security and by extension, the very future of our islands.

In the coming weeks, the Governor is anticipated to consider a new commissioner to replace the outgoing Neil Hannahs, who will term out on June 30, 2024. This new commissioner, in addition to being tasked with the general fiduciary obligations of the Water Commission, will also fill a hard-fought seat statutorily reserved for someone with substantial expertise in traditional Native Hawaiian water management practices and riparian usage. Such an individual would not only help the Water Commission uphold the unique Hawaiian rights protected under the Water Code and public trust, but could also ensure that Hawaiian practices, values, and perspectives are appropriately reflected in water management decisions, as would be key to our islands’ climate resilience. 

Excitingly, we know that there are at least five individuals on the Governor’s shortlist of names put forward by the Water Commission’s nominating committee, all of whom would be excellent selections given their experience, expertise, community service, and commitment to our islands.

Please take a moment to raise your voice for our wai this World Water Month, by contacting the Governor and ask him to appoint one of these individuals to the Water Commission:

Lori Buchanan
Lani Eckart-Dodd
Hannah Springer
Makahiapo Cashman, or
Kaina Makua

A sample script and brief bios of these outstanding individuals are provided below.  

With just a few minutes of your time, you can help guide the Governor’s decision, and keep our islands moving towards a brighter, more resilient, and just future, through the pono management of our wai.  

E Ola i ka Wai!

Sample script:

Aloha Governor Green,

My name is ____ and I would like to respectfully but strongly urge your selection of one of the following excellent candidates for the Commission on Water Resources Management, to serve as the member possessing substantial experience or expertise in traditional Hawaiian water management techniques and traditional Hawaiian riparian usage:

 Lori Buchanan
Lani Eckart-Dodd
Hannah Springer
Makahiapo Cashman, or
Kaina Makua

Mahalo nui for your consideration of this critical matter.

Candidate Bios:

Lori Buchanan (Molokaʻi)
Lori Buchanan is a born and raised Native Hawaiian from Molokaʻi. She is a mother and grandmother who is passionate about environmental and cultural protection for future generations. She currently owns and operates multiple small businesses on Molokaʻi and serves as project coordinator for the Molokaʻi Maui Invasive Species Committee. Lori has decadesʻ worth of professional experience in the field of environmental conservation in Hawaiʻi and has received commendations in recognition of her work from the Governor of the State of Hawaiʻi as well as from the County of Maui. As a passionate community advocate and volunteer, she actively participates in community issues and initiatives and has served on numerous boards and commissions including as: Chair of the State Game Management Advisory Council, Chair of the Legacy Lands Conservation Commission, and member of the State Office of Planning Marine and Coastal Zone Advisory Council, and current Chair of the Molokai Planning Commission.

Lani Eckart-Dodd (Maui)
Lani Eckart-Dodd is a kalo farmer in Wailuku and serves as the Treasurer of Hui o Nā Wai ‘Eha, which has been a leading advocate in restoring stream flows and implementing the water code for Central Maui.  She is also a mother and cultural practitioner, and a kumu with Ke Kula ʻo Piʻilani. Learn more about Lani and hear her thoughts on colonization and cultural foodways in this podcast here. 

Hannah Springer (Hawaiʻi Island)
Hannah Kihalani Springer is kama‘āina of Kaʻūpūlehu, North Kona, and a life-long student of the cultural and natural histories of Hawai‘i.  She has guided visitors through the ahupua‘a she calls home, showing them what lies within the boundaries of Kaʻūpūlehu from mauka to makai. Hannah is part of the Kaʻūpūlehu Marine Life Advisory Committee (KMLAC), a group of local landowners, businesses, advocacy groups, and families with ancestral ties to the area, that has been working for more than two decades to protect the fresh and ocean water resources of Kūkiʻo and Kaʻūpūlehu. She is a former trustee of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, The Nature Conservancy Hawai‘i, and Hawai‘i Preparatory Academy. Her ‘ohana, including her children and grandchildren, are the sixth and seventh generation to live in their family home at Kukuiohiwai. Hannah received Historic Hawai‘i Foundation’s Preservation Honor Award for Individual Achievement in 2019.

Hannah was one of the plaintiffs in the landmark Ka Paʻakai o ka ʻĀina vs. Land Use Commission lawsuit, which culminated in a Hawaiʻi Supreme Court decision that now requires all government decisions to assess and mitigate impacts to Native Hawaiian traditional and customary practices and the natural and cultural resources upon which they rely.  

Makahiapo Cashman (Oʻahu)
Ho‘okahewai ho‘oulu ‘āina: “make the water flow and the land flourishes” is the mana‘o of Ka Papa Lo‘i ‘O Kānewai, a native garden and loʻi located on the UH-Mānoa campus, since its rebirth in 1980. As Director of Kānewai, Makahiapo has shared this mana‘o with thousands who visit the loʻi from all over the world, as they engage in experiential, cultural, and educational opportunities, and learn about traditional Hawaiian farming methods in a modern context through practice. Makahiapo’s work also promotes the Hawaiian language by providing practical working experience for the application of Hawaiian language skills by students, and encourages the revitalization of traditional Hawaiian values, concepts, and practices by promoting kōkua (help), laulima (cooperation), lokahi (unity) and huki like (to pull or work together). 

Makahiapo is a member of ‘Onipa‘a Nā Hui Kalo and Mālama Hāloa. These organizations are made up of local kalo farmers dedicated to protecting the integrity of Native Hawaiian kalo varieties.

Kaina Makua (Kauaʻi)
Kaina Makua is a mahiʻai kalo, a kalo farmer from the island of Kauaʻi. He is also a community educator and owner of Aloha ʻĀina Poi Company. He is a kumu and Kūkulu Hale with Kāneiolouma, and a kumu with Kumano I Ke Ala, a nonprofit he founded to provide cultural ‘āina-based education for at-risk Kauaʻi youth. Hear Kaina reflect on perpetuating traditional Native Hawaiian values and practices in the ahupuaʻa of Waimea, Kauaʻi, here.