HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.C.R. NO.	139
TWENTY-NINTH LEGISLATURE, 2017
STATE OF HAWAII

HOUSE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

requesting the establishment of a working group to integrate hawaii's indigenous food systems and traditional Hawaiian farming practices into the state's goal of doubling food production by 2020.

WHEREAS, the Aloha+ Challenge, launched in 2014, is a statewide sustainability initiative led by the Governor, Mayors, Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Legislature, and Hawaii Green Growth public-private partners across the State; and

     WHEREAS, the Aloha+ Challenge identified six ambitious, high-level goals to be achieved by 2030 for clean energy, local food, natural resource management, solid waste reduction, smart sustainable communities, and green workforce and education initiatives; and

     WHEREAS, the Governor announced at the 2016 International Union for Conservation of Nature World Conservation Congress that the State's goal is to double local food production by 2020; and

     WHEREAS, the State's local food production goal reflects the goals expressed by kalo practitioners, including those who participated in the Taro Security and Purity Task Force's 2010 legislative report E ola hou ke kalo; ho‘i hou ka ‘āina lē‘ia:  The taro lives; abundance returns to the land, which emphasized the need to invest in traditional farming and crops to perpetuate local culture and to support disaster preparedness and food security in the State; and

     WHEREAS, traditional Hawaiian farming and natural resource management practices have been shown to have significant net benefits across the ahupua‘a system from watershed forests to reef systems; and

      WHEREAS, in 2015, the State Planning Act was updated to add the growth and development of traditional Hawaiian farming systems, such as the use of loko i‘a, dryland māla, and irrigated lo‘i, and traditional Hawaiian crops, such as kalo, ‘uala, and ‘ulu, as well as the growth and development of small-scale farms, as agricultural objectives of the State; now, therefore,

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-ninth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2017, the Senate concurring, that the Department of Land and Natural Resources with the assistance of the Department of Agriculture is requested to establish a working group to integrate the State's indigenous food systems and traditional Hawaiian farming practices into the State's goal of doubling food production by 2020; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Chairperson of the Board of Land and Natural Resources shall serve as chairperson of the working group and shall select members for the working group; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the working group is requested to:

     (1)  Consult with practitioners, researchers, and stakeholders to define and identify indigenous food systems and traditional Hawaiian farming practices that can be integrated into the State's goal of doubling food production by 2020;

     (2)  Clearly articulate and delineate the practices and methods that constitute traditional Hawaiian farming practices;

     (3)  Analyze pre-historical traditional Hawaiian farming methods, the distribution of agricultural forms, and the adverse effects of contemporary land zoning on traditional Hawaiian farming areas; and

     (4)  Suggest improvements to streamline or ease regulatory processes to increase production of traditional Hawaiian foods and to assist small-scale indigenous farming activities that support beneficial ecosystem uses and healthy ahupua‘a systems; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that members of the working group shall not receive compensation for their services, and no member shall be made subject to chapter 84, Hawaii Revised Statutes, solely because of that member's participation as a member of the working group; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the working group shall be exempt from chapter 92, Hawaii Revised Statutes; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Land and Natural Resources and the Department of Agriculture is requested to provide administrative support to the working group; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Land and Natural Resources, with the assistance of the Department of Agriculture, is requested to submit a report of the working group's findings and recommendations, including any proposed legislation, to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2018; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Chairperson of the Board of Land and Natural Resources and Chair of the Board of Agriculture.

OFFERED BY:

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Report Title: 

Department of Land and Natural Resources; Department of Agriculture; Indigenous Food Systems; Traditional Native Farming; Food Production