Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 18, Number 12, 1 Kekemapa 2001 — Public land trust discussion continues [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Public land trust discussion continues

Haunani Apoliona, MSW Trustee, At-large

Aloha mai kakou e nā 'ōiwi o Hawai'i. This 13th article, in a series of 48, concludes as a fourth installment of highlights relating to the creation of a land inventory of the Public Land Trust. (reference KWO September, October and November 2001). In "A Report to the Governor and the Legislature of the State of Hawai'i, Establishment of a Public Land Trust Information System, Phase One, March 2001" pursuant to Act 125 Session Laws of Hawai'i 2000, the State Auditor concluded "the significance of a public land trust information system is reflected in the historical purpose of the public land trust." The Admission Act of 1959 transferred the bulk of the ceded lands — those lands ceded by the Republic of Hawai'i to the United States when it became a territory — to the State of Hawai'i to be held in trust for five specific purposes, one of whieh is to better the conditions of native Hawaiians. The Office of Hawaiian Affairs was created by Constitutional amendment in 1978 to administer that

portion of the public land trust benefits for native Hawaiians. In 1980 the State Legislature enacted Act 273, designating that 20 percent of revenues from the public land trust would be the pro rata share for "the betterment of conditions of native Hawaiians, as defined in the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act, 1920, as amended." The Auditor notes, "the determination of what constituted 20 percent of the revenues has been an ongoing problem because the scope and exact identification of all lands in the public land trust have never been definitive. Creation of a public land trust information system is intended to resolve that dilemma." Pursuant to requirements of Act 125, the Auditor findings concluded that a geographic information system (GIS) is the best ehoiee" for eompleting the public Iand trust information system. Five key eomponents, integrated, are required for a GIS: hardware, software, data, people and methods. Users of the GIS make up the people component and range from technical specialists

who design and maintain the system to those who use the system to perform their work. The Auditor notes, "GIS technology is of limited value without the people who manage the system and develop plans for applying the system to realworld problems." Methods, refers to the analytical methodology used to interpret the results generated by the G1S. Like the classification of a particular parcel and the parcel's ineome generating potential. The most important fifth component is the GIS data whieh comes in three basic forms: 1) spatial data, points, lines and areas and forms the loeations and shapes of maps features such as buildings, streets, and cities; 2) tabular data adds information to maps and desc5ribes map features; 3) image data includes elements such as satellite images, aerial photographs, and scanned data — data that has been converted from paper to digital format. A GIS also provides powerful analytical tools to analyze geographic data for patterns and trends and to undertake

'what if scenarios. Two such tools are called the proximity analysis and the overlay analysis. With proximity analysis, the GIS system answers queries that relate the proximity of two landmarks. For example, the user could query the computer to identify all parcels within 100 meters of a particular water main. An overlay analysis consists of joining one or more data layers over a map. An overly analysis could be used to integrate data on land ownership with tax assessment or other data that have been appropriately defined for the system." Will a comprehensive inventory of ceded lands ever be completed? Failed efforts date back tol982, Auditor's Report No. 86-17. Will costs prohibit such a completion? Is such an inventory necessary for eventual settlement of Native Hawaiian claims with the State and the Federal government? Or do negotiations or decisions by policy makers get done pieeemeal? Hau 'oli Kau Kalikimaka. ■