Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 36, Number 10, 1 October 2019 — OHA wins award for exemplary land management plan [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

OHA wins award for exemplary land management plan

By Aliee Malepeai Silbanuz The Office of Hawaiian Affairs Land Program and partners were awarded with the American Planning Association Award for Cultural/ Historic Preservation for their work to create the Wao Kele o Puna Comprehensive Management Plan (CMP). Through a two-year process, the OHA Land Program and partners, Ho'okuleana LLC, Forest Solutions ine., Nohopapa Hawai'i, and Cultural Surveys Hawai'i, ine. worked closely with Puna community members to create a comprehensive plan for managing Wao Kele o Puna. Encompassing 25,800 acres, Wao Kele o Puna is one of the largest tropical lowland rainforests in Hawai'i and it is managed by OHA. A substantial component to the planning process was community engagement, whieh was conducted through ethnohistorical interviews, a community advisory eouneil called the 'Aha Kūkākūkā, and two puhlie meetings. The plan serves as a model for integrating traditional Hawaiian knowledge into modern forestry management and provides opportunities for community participation. The OHA Land Program and pai'tners received the Cultural/Historic Preservation Award from the American Planning Association at the Hawai'i Congress of Planning Officials Conference on September

11,2019. The Wao Kele o Puna Comprehensive Management Plan seeks to be a unique, innovative and culturally competent planning document. It does not simply include culture as a component of the CMP, but features culture as the driving force and lens through whieh the CMP is created, will be implemented, and allowed to evolve. While the CMP embraces modern day scienee, technology and proven best practices in conservation, it does so through a cultural perspective. Ultimately, the CMP provides a culturally competent stewardship framework for OHA to implement recommended actions. "OHA is honored that the incorporation of the vision and input of our beneficiaries and the greater community is being recognized," said OHA Land Program Manager Jonathan Ching. "We firmly believe that this is an avenue for collective impact and that our people are the key for implementing plans of this nature with meaningful and longlasting results." Watch the OHA video production "Blending Traditional & Modern Land Management at Wao Kele o Puna" that followed the creation and Board of Trustees' approval of the plan at https:// vimeo.com/262 1 34834. Visit www.oha.org/waokeleopuna to view a copy of the Wao Kele o Puna Comprehensive Management Plan.H

OHA Land Paia and partners with Hawai'i-island based community advisory eouneil, 'Aha Kūkōkūkō, that worked collaboratively on developing the award-winning comprehensive management plan for Wao Kele o Puna,- Photo: Kaipo Kī'aha

. a- • v ? -v.s . ^ t s '* * • i'A> . ' .if Wao Kele o Puna.- Photo: Kaipo Kl'aha