The land of aloha can’t be welcoming to all. Invasive species, in an ideal world, would be turned away at the gate.But getting on top of this problem is an exceedingly difficult and expensive challenge.
Given the fiscal realities — it was budget cutting that reduced inspections and heightened the threat in the first place — the wise course would be giving priority to initiatives that offer the best bang for the buck.
The spread of a fungus that threatens the ‘ohia lehua — a plant prized not only culturally but for its role in enhancing the islands’ watershed — is an example of a worthy priority. In a state with so many needs competing for aid from a limited tax base, targeted initiatives of this kind could reasonably achieve improved outcomes for the environment.
A less safe bet would be a comprehensive program that is unlikely to be implemented as designed. This state imports
80-90 percent of its goods, including food, said Scott Enright, director of the state Department of Agriculture, rightly observing that this is what makes Hawaii so vulnerable to invasive species.
It also surely would push the costs for such a system beyond reach.
The state is contemplating a draft Hawaii Interagency Biosecurity Plan estimated at $39 million annually for the next decade; it was unveiled last week before the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s World Conservation Congress.
Hawaii’s leaders making budgetary decisions will need to consider carefully where investments should be made.
The proposed Biosecurity Plan, due for public hearings next month, covers the 2017-2027 time frame and includes measures not only to inspect imported goods upon arrival but to prevent contaminated shipments from reaching the state.
Here are some of the elements, all of them clearly big cost items:
>> Off-shore compliance: Agreements with other jurisdictions to adopt preshipping inspection and control policies.
>> “E-manifest” and intelligence-gathering technology to track what is coming in and assess its risk.
>> Secure and efficient inspection facilities, including refrigerated areas for produce.
>> Authority for the Agriculture Department to inspect high-risk nonagricultural items.
>> Funding to support interagency plans and protocols to allow response to new pest infestations.
>> Increased staffing to address both established pest concerns and prevent interisland spread.
Some proposals are certainly worthy of better funding. For example, the state aims to renew its focus on human health by restoring the Department of Health’s Vector Control Branch, to better detect and manage threats such as dengue and Zika.
This branch was among the state agencies hobbled by the recession, when furloughs and budget cuts were implemented.
It was the dengue fever outbreak on Hawaii island that spurred lawmakers last year to appro-
priate $1.27 million to fill 20 vector-control positions. Even with that injection of new funds, the branch would remain at least 11 positions below its peak.
The World Conservation Congress heard other disheartening news about a victim of infestation: The native ‘ohia forest is succumbing to a fungus that has spread to more than 47,000 acres. The tree, with its lehua blossoms prized in hula adornments and for other cultural practices, plays a critical environmental role. It helps retain rainfall, which recharges the island aquifers.
The biosecurity plan does define the scope of the problem, and expanding the state’s reach to catch a bad shipment before it even heads to Hawaii is a good
aspirational goal.
But when the real spending plans are hammered out by the governor and legislators, it’s the top priorities such as these that must get the immediate attention they deserve.
