Hawaii will receive $20 million in federal funds that will go to 17 Native Hawaiian organizations in efforts to restore native ecosystems and plants, and to “enhance food security while incorporating Indigenous knowledge and practices.”
The money from the Department of the Interior’s Kapapahuliau Climate Resilience Program was funded through a provision in the Inflation Reduction Act authored by U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, who chairs the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs.
“Through the Kapapahuliau Climate Resilience Program, the federal government is directly funding Native Hawaiian-led climate solutions for the first time ever,” Schatz said in a news release. “This $20 million down payment — part of the Inflation Reduction Act’s historic investment in climate action — recognizes the critical role of the Native Hawaiian community in charting a path towards a sustainable, climate resilient future in Hawai‘i and beyond.”
Schatz said the funding will be used to support efforts to help raise climate change awareness in the Native Hawaiian community, restore native forests and ahupuaa-based communities, protect ancestral burials and promote Native knowledge and practices, including loko ia and outrigger canoe paddling, among other things.
Island ecosystems like those found in Hawaii are incredibly biodiverse and more susceptible to climaterelated impacts, such as wildfires and warmer and more acidic oceans, the Interior Department said in its news release.
“The Hawaiian Islands face unique and intensifying climate-related challenges that pose an existential threat to lives and livelihoods. The Indigenous Knowledge within the Native Hawaiian Community will be invaluable as we face these challenges head-on,” said Interior Secretary Deb Haaland in a statement. “As the state faces some of climate change’s most damaging effects, this investment through President Biden’s Investing in America agenda is a critical step toward planning for and implementing climate resilience measures, and safeguarding Hawaii for generations to come.”
Funding will be implemented through the Interior Department’s Office of Native Hawaiian Relations’ Kapapahuliau Climate Resilience Program.
ONHR hosted two information sessions and in-person scoping meetings with Native Hawaiians throughout the islands before the awards were made. A full list of projects can be found on the Interior Department’s website.
