DLNR PARTNERS WITH CONSERVATION GROUPS TO ESTABLISH WATCH PROGRAM
March 24, 2005 – The Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR), The Nature Conservancy, the Community Conservation Network, and Hawaii Wildlife Fund are partnering in a new community program to help protect Hawaii’s natural and cultural resources.
The “Mauka-Makai Watch” is similar to the Neighborhood Watch Program in which community members act as the “eyes and ears” for law enforcement to help deter, identify and report crimes.
Local conservation organizations are working with communities to implement “Mauka-Makai Watch” in important coastal areas, and DLNR’s Enforcement Division is providing training to participants.
“Community-supported natural and cultural resource protection and preservation programs represent a win-win opportunity. We want and need citizens to take more personal responsibility for protecting the resources,” said Peter Young, DLNR Chairperson.
“We’ve seen tremendous interest at the community level to help protect our coastal resources and upland forests – and that’s a major reason we are involved in Mauka-Makai Watch,” said Suzanne Case, Executive Director of The Nature Conservancy of Hawai‘i. “We believe local communities in Hawai‘i can really help to increase the amount of protection our natural resources receive."
Mauka-Makai Watch has three primary components: 1) Through education and outreach, community members learn and provide information to resource users about ecology, regulations, and best practices; 2) DLNR’s Enforcement Officers train community members in surveillance and enforcement to reduce the incidents of willful disregard for laws and regulations governing resource use; and 3) conservation groups train community members in biological, human use and threat monitoring so that they can interpret changes in the resources and how they are used over time.
“We have found in our work throughout the Pacific, that local communities are well suited to protect coastal and marine resources because they live in daily contact with these resources,” said Scott Atkinson, Hawaii Program Director for the Community Conservation Network.
“Once they have access to training in key skills such as outreach and surveillance, community members are able to play a more active role in protecting the natural resources that are important to their livelihoods and lifestyles,” Atkinson said
The Mauka-Makai Watch program will initially focus on those communities with nearshore marine resources of statewide significance. For other interested communities, group training opportunities and a “how to” manual for them to start their own programs will be provided.
By looking out for suspicious activity, monitoring and caring for the resources, and reporting inappropriate activity to law enforcement and to each other, communities can begin to share responsibility for the places that make Hawaii unique.
As areas under Mauka-Makai Watch gain a reputation for increased attention, enforcement violations will likely be reduced and, as a result, the resources will be more fully protected.
DLNR’s line divisions have broad responsibilities for protection of: marine and freshwater aquatic resources, boating and ocean recreation, forests and wildlife, water resource management, conservation and resource enforcement, historic preservation, state parks, land management, state engineering projects and public information.
Over the years, DLNR has developed various programs to involve communities in resource protection and management.
Until now, these programs worked independently and, although very successful, lacked a coordinated effort by the department. Mauka-Makai Watch is designed to provide that coordination for DLNR and its conservation and community partners.
Interested parties and communities can request more information on this program by e-mailing maukamakaiwatch@yahoo.com.
.
|
Join The Nature Conservancy on