This book addresses the complex socio-political context of natural
resource management in coastal and marine environments throughout the
contemporary Pacific Islands and provides lessons that can be applied
around the globe. The author spotlights one particular case in which
Native Hawaiians worked successfully to develop a formal policy
mechanism through which to advise government agencies in the State of
Hawaii on matters regarding traditional and customary use and management
of the island's natural resources.
Glazier describes historic-traditional aspects of natural resource use
and management in the Hawaiian Islands and the challenging process that
was employed to enhance the capacity of modern Hawaiians to influence
the course of their future. This process successfully broached and
addressed truly difficult challenges, including but not limited to: the
convening of representatives of a complex society of indigenous persons
in order to elicit traditional place-based knowledge and varying
perspectives on the appropriate use and management of natural resources;
the incorporation of such knowledge and perspectives into the modern
natural resource management and policy context; and the need to balance
the interests of indigenous persons and those of more recently-arriving
persons around the island chain.
The lessons learned were many and varied and are particularly germane
for resource managers, scientists, policymakers, and indigenous persons
seeking to undertake balanced natural resource policy decisions in
island, coastal, and indigenous settings around the Pacific and
beyond.
