Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 33, Number 9, 1 September 2016 — Kamaʻaina encouraged to participate in IUCN Congress [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Kamaʻaina encouraged to participate in IUCN Congress

Repnesentatives fnom 175 nations will participate — anel so ean you

ByTreenaShapiro As host of the world's largest gathering of conservation-

# *ists, Hawai'i is poised to share its unique environmental concerns and solutions with a global forum. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is drawing more than 8,000 conservationists, researchers and world leaders from more than 175 countries to Honolulu for the 2016 World Conservation Congress (WCC), held for the first time in the United States. Hawai'i residents will be able to take part in the Sept. 1 to 10 gathering as well, with free events offered in addition to those that require paid registration. Kama'āina who find registration for the entire Congress cost-prohibitive at upwards of $1,000 ean still leam about conservation efforts and issues here and around the world through parallel events, puhlie sessions and discounted registration for Hawai'i residents - 15 percent off registration and IUCN membership or one or two day passes for $75 a day. Some of the events that require registration

are steeped in Hawaiian culture. The Sept. 1 opening ceremony at the Neal Blaisdell Center, for example, features unique performances reflecting the WCC's "Planet at the

Crossroads theme by the Lalakea Loundation and hula hālau from the four major Hawaiian islands. The event will be emceed by Kamana'opono Crabbe, Ka Pouhana/CEO of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, one of

the event's sponsors. Also requiring registration is a Sept. 5 high-level session featuring Hawaiian spiritual leader Dr. Pualani Kanaka'ole-Kanahele that will bring together some of the world's most eminent religious leaders including Cardinal Peter K. A. Turkson, President of the Pontifical Council on Justice and Peaee at the Vatican; Rabi Sergio Bergman, Minister of Environment in Argentina; Imam Professor Din Syamsuddin of Indonesia and HH Aeharya Lokesh, a Jain priest. Some events will be running parallel to the Congress, complimenting the official IUCN program - a sail around the islands led by the Polynesian Voyaging Society, a youth-fo-cused "creative speaking experience" to share Pacific Island conservation experiences and indigenous food festivals on Maui, Moloka'i and 0'ahu's North Shore. SEE KAMA'AINA ON PAGE 17

I U C N World Conservation Congress Hawai'i 2016

0ther puhlie events include: lgniting Conservation: Hope Spots Across the Hawaiian lslands Hawai'i-Pacific Pavilion September 2, 2016 11:00am-1:00pm https://portals.iucn.org/congress/session/12205 Stamping Out Alien Mosquitos in Hawai'i: Can Technology Stop Avian Malaria from Driving Hawai'i's Native Birds to Extinction? Species Conservation Pavilion September 3, 2016 3:00-4:00pm https://portals.iucn.org/congress/session/12437 The Ka'ūpūlehu Seasonal Calendar: An Example of lntegrated Place-Based, Traditional, and Scientific Knowledges to Foster Sustainable Management of Natural-Cultural Resources Hawai'i-Pacific Pavilion September 4, 2016 12:00noon-1:00pm https://portals.iucn.org/congress/session/12220 The Hawaiian Plant Specialist Group: Stories of Extinction and Recovery of a Critically Endangered Flora Species Conservation Pavilion September 5, 2016 11:00am-12:00noon https://portals.iucn.org/congress/session/12458 Environmental Courts Hawai'i-Pacific Pavilion September 5, 2016 12:00noon-1:00pm https://portals.iucn.org/congress/session/12227 Saving Hawaiian Birds: Concrete Actions to Prevent Further Extinctions Species Conservation Pavilion September 6, 2016 1:00-2:30pm https://portals.iucn.org/congress/session/12471 Events will be held at the Neal Blaisdell Center and the Hawai'i Convention Center. To find out more about the IUCN's 2016 World Conservation Congress - including registration, a schedule of events and submitted motions - visit hawaii. iucnworldconservationcongress.org. You ean also find prior Ka Wai Oia coverage of the World Conservation Congress in August's issue at http://issuu.com/kawaiola/docs/kwo0816_ web/1?e=2253336/37537135.

E Ala Pū provides a network for community groups across the islands to share techniques on how to best manage their natural resources. At the World Conservation Congress, they'll be able to bring some of their traditional practices to a global audience. - Photo: Courtesy ofKua'āina Ulu 'Auamo

Kua'āina Ulu 'Auamo (KUA) has invited indigenous community leaders from all over the world to a pre-Congress gathering aimed at building relationships and finding commonalities in traditional resource management practices they ean then share at the IUCN event. "It's an opportunity for them to get before a nahonal audience that would listen to and support their knowledge," says KUA director Kevin Chang. KUA has submitted a motion in support of community-based natural resource management practices, whieh would allow traditional knowledge to informmanagement of fisheries, lo'i, limu patches and other important resources. "It encourages our state to eonhnue to do what it's doing and eonhnue to get better at doing it," Chang explains. If the motion is adopted, "It ean serve as a point of inhuenee."

During the Congress, those who attended KUA's E Alu Pū gathering will be passing out a newly published edition of Queen Lili'uokalani's translation of the creation chant Kumulipo, whieh includes a genealogy of Hawai'i's ruling ali'i. "The Kumulipo informs a lot of those values that bind our eommunity and the connection between mauka and makai that's an important thing for a lot of the people we work with," said Kim Moa, KUA's communication coordinator. For the puhlie, KUA will be hosting a session at 3:30 p.m. on Sept. 2 called "Lawai'a Pono: Ancient Fishing Practices Applied to Modern Contexts." It will offer a snapshot of conservation work being done in Hawai'i communities through pono fishing practices and demonstrations. "A lot of the work people do is conservation-based, but they're feeding their communities," Moa points out. "This highlights the values that are rooted in some of our communities." ■

KAMA'AINA Continued from page 15