Action Alert: Support the Restoration of Loko Iʻa (Fishponds)
Support HB2626 HD1: Take Action to Support the Restoration of Loko Iʻa (Fishponds)!
Support Loko Iʻa!
Loko iʻa (fishponds) remain an important resource for feeding local communities and providing community and cultural connection. Healthy fishponds also support healthy nearshore fisheries. Please submit testimony in support. This bill specifies certain findings that the Board of Land and Natural Resources must make for a lease of a government-owned Hawaiian fishpond. In addition, the applicant is required to provide a management plan demonstrating the use and knowledge of traditional Native Hawaiian practices and protocols as the primary component of the applicant’s tenancy, including kilo, kiaʻi loko, and uhau humu pōhaku (for rock walled fishponds).
HB 2626 HD1 has a joint hearing in the Senate Water and Land & Hawaiian Affairs Committees on Tuesday, March 19, 2024 at 1:15 PM in Conference Room 224 and via Videoconference.
Written Testimony due Monday, March 18th
Support HB 2626 HD1- Loko Iʻa (Fishponds) Restoration
Sample Testimony:
Aloha Chair Inouye, Chair Shimabukuro, and Members of the Committee,
Please support HB2626 HD1.
Loko iʻa (fishponds) remain an important resource for feeding local communities and providing community and cultural connection. Healthy fishponds also support healthy nearshore fisheries.
Loko iʻa are not only important food sources for our local communities but important cultural sites providing space for communities to gather, connect to place and mālama.
Supporting HB2626 HD1 will accelerate Hawaiʻi’s local food production and food security goals while also supporting indigenous traditional and customary cultural practices and community resilience.
Mahalo for your consideration!
Your Name, Town
(You will need a Capitol website account)
View HAPA’s 2024 Fair & Sustainable Food Systems Policy Agenda
Join us this session in supporting a broad array of bills designed to support local farmers, food producers, increase local food production, address inequities in our food system such as food insecurity, and support regenerative and indigenous farming/food production practices.
See more information below about HAPA’s 2024 FSFS policy agenda below and take action in support of these Fair & Sustainable Food System policy priorities!
New to Legislative Engagement? Learn more about how to engage in the Legislative Session!
Make sure you have set up your account on the Hawaii State Legislature website. If you are new to the process, see this helpful page on legislative engagement 101 from the Public Access Room including a link on how to submit testimony!
About Hawaiʻi Alliance for Progressive Action
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The Hawaiʻi Alliance for Progressive Action (HAPA) is deeply committed to championing social, economic, and environmental justice throughout Hawaiʻi. Recognizing the interconnected nature of food systems, we underscore that the challenges plaguing these systems are not isolated from broader social, economic, and environmental concerns. We believe in an integrated approach that addresses these interdependencies to create a just, equitable, and sustainable future for Hawaiʻi.
Contact: info@hapahi.org | (808) 212-9616
