Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 24, Number 11, 1 Nowemapa 2007 — Who are we? [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Who are we?

Ekala mai kākou, and also to the members of the State of Hawai'i Temporary Advisory Coimnission on Bioprospecting. I have written a eouple of articles for this newspaper about the activities of the connnission but have neglected to describe how the commission eame about or introduce its members. Decades ago, large corporations from the developed countries began to explore, study and exploit the natural resources, including the biological resources (plants, animals, and microorganisms), of the underdeveloped countries. In some cases, those corporations eamed huge profits from products developed from those biological resources. People eame to see the need to protect those resources and share the benefits derived from them with the indigenous peoples of the underdeveloped countries. As a result, a multilateral treaty called the Convention on Biological Diversity was adopted in 1992 at an "Earth Summit" of over 175 nations in Rio de Janeiro. The Convention's major goals are: 1) the eonservation of biological diversity (all the biological resources); 2) the sustainable use of its components (usually genes); and 3) fair and equitable sharing of benefits derived from the use of genetic resources. Beginning about 1993, Kanaka Maoli organizations such as OHA, the 'īlio'ulaokalani Coalition and the Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs started pressing the Legislature to protect Hawai'i's biologieal resources. In the 2006 session of the Legislature, after receiving a Legislative Reference Bureau report on the sharing of benefits arising from the use of Hawai'i's biological resources, the Legislature adopted House Concurrent Resolution No. 193, H.D. 1, authorizing an ll-member coimnission. Pursuant to the resolution, the governor appointed: • Oswald Stender, OHA Trustee; • Victoria M. H. Takamine, UH lecturer and President of 'īlio'ulaokalani; • Wayne Kaho'onei Panoke, Project Manager, Community Planning & Engineering Ine. and Environet Ine., Member

of Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs, Executive Director of 'īlio'ulaokalani; • Lawrence Burgess, M.D., Physician, professor of surgery, UH Medical School; • Keiki-Pua Dancil, Executive vice president of Hawai'i Chitopure; • Dr. James Gaines, representing UH President Dr. David McClain; • Liz Corbin, representing the Department of Business, Eeonomie Development, and Tourism; • Betsy Gagne, representing the Department of Land and Natural Resources; • David Watumull, President and CEO of Cardax Pharmaceuticals; • Lisa Gibson, President of the Hawai'i Science & Technology Council; • Myself, representing OHA. Six of the 1 1 members are Kanaka Maoli: Stender, Takamine, Panoke, Burgess, Dancil and myself. The commission was assigned by the resoluhon to OHA for administrative purposes; however, the Legislature did not provide any funding for its work. We have obtained contributions totaling $80,000 from the University of Hawai'i, the state Department of Business Eeonomie Development and Tourism, Cardax, and the Science and Technology Council. OHA must bear the balance. We are trying to be watchful of the spending and have not hired any extra staff. It has been difficult, but we have persevered. The coimnission now meets every other week and holds community meetings on the Neighbor Islands. So far, we have been to Maui, Hawai'i and Kaua'i. We will also hold meetings on Moloka'i, Lāna'i, and Leeward and Windward O'ahu. By popular demand, we will also be returning to Maui. The mana'o from the conmiunity meetings will be included in our report to the Legislature. In brief, however, I ean report that there is confusion and some anger about the subject. Some people believe it is the same as genetic modification; others believe that there should be no such utilization of our biological diversity. The resolution shows that the Legislature recognizes "a need to develop public policy to balance development and commercialization with scientific research and conservation of Hawai'i's fragile bio-resources, and fair and equitable benefit-sharing with the general public and Native Hawaiians, who are the beneficiaries of the public land trust." We are determined to help shape that policy. □

Walter M. Heen TrustEE, O'ahu