9 minute read
A BETTER PLACE
Rich in ‘ōpae‘ula shrimp, insects, grasses, and sedge, Hualālai’s 2.5-acre anchialine Waiakauhi Pond—an ideal waterbird habitat and abundant food source for wildlife—is living proof of the sustainable practices being implemented at the resort and throughout the islands.
Honoring its legacy of respect for the land, Hawai‘i is reimagining tourism—and laying the groundwork for an ever-brighter future.
BY ANDREW WALSH
ohn De Fries recently stopped by Hualālai Resort—one of the many destinations across the Hawaiian Islands that are part of a transformative vision for tourism here. If the nature of De Fries’s work as president and CEO of the Honolulu-based Hawai‘i Tourism Authority (HTA) was the impetus for his visit, surely the very essence of the resort was a draw, too. Take, for example, Hualālai’s pristine anchialine ponds, which, restored over more than a quarter century, are the lifeblood of a flourishing natural resources program. The ponds grow oysters and shrimp for the resort’s restaurants. The Kumu Kai Marine Center at King’s Pond educates the resort’s Members and guests about local sea life and conservation. Marine biologists are among the resort’s full-time staff.
THIS SPREAD, FROM LEFT: ANNA PACHECO; DANA EDMUNDS; COURTESY OF HAWAI‘I TOURISM AUTHORITY
—JOHN DE FRIES, PRESIDENT AND CEO, HAWAI‘I TOURISM AUTHORITY
The natural resources staff at Hualālai’s Kumu Kai Marine Center teach the resort’s Members and guests about local sea life and conservation.
The ecologically sustainable composting program at Hualālai is a key component of the resort’s regular operations, enabling green waste to be converted for on-site reintroduction into the soil.
Programs like Hualālai’s are in harmony with HTA’s new mission—embedded in its 2020–2025 strategic plan—to “manage Hawai‘i tourism in a sustainable manner consistent with economic goals, cultural values, preservation of natural resources, community desires, and visitor industry needs.” But such programs are not merely parts of a business objective; they are ties to life-affirming Hawaiian traditions.
“I ka wā ma mua, ka wā ma hope [through the past is the future],” says the Oahu-born De Fries. “The key to our future survival as islanders in Hawai‘i and on planet Earth was left to us by those who came before us.”
Since the first Polynesians arrived in the Hawaiian archipelago in AD 400, a sacred way of life has been embodied and practiced throughout the islands. The Hawaiian people call it kuleana, which translates as “responsibility” or, in the modern lexicon, mauō—a new Hawaiian word for “sustainability,” a way to survive island living. Kuleana was and is a lived tradition—a reciprocal relationship between a person’s responsibility to their resources and the resources’ responsibility to the person. The land will nurture, feed, and protect you, but only if you care for and respect the land. In the rich Hawaiian tradition of mālama ‘āina (care for the land), residents and visitors alike are responsible to the land, to protect it for the next generation.
Accordingly, HTA is working to pivot Hawai‘i’s tourism toward a regenerative model—one that balances its economic benefits with its impacts on communities and natural resources. Regenerative tourism goes beyond sustainable tourism and seeks to leave a place better than it was before. To this end, HTA has adopted a four-pronged approach: support programs that bolster Hawai‘i’s natural resources and cultural sites; provide authentic experiences for visitors and residents that further cultivate the native Hawaiian culture and community; ensure that local communities benefit from tourism; and safeguard and enrich Hawai‘i’s international brand.
Progress is already being seen and felt throughout the archipelago. “If you go to goHawaii.com/malama, it will show you experiences across six of our islands where a visitor can basically volunteer their time and
Keeping the compost moist is one of the steps to the natural process, making the decomposition controlled and reducing the need for chemical fertilizers.
NATURAL LEADERS
Vital to Hualālai Resort’s sustainability efforts is the work of its natural resources and landscaping teams. Here, a few of these individuals share what they do to effect positive change—and how you can be part of it.
David Chai
Director of Natural Resources “Through our newly constructed Kumu Kai Marine Center, our natural resources staff lead tours and handson activities that highlight Hawai‘i’s unique and fragile ecosystems. We currently have 16 different programs to highlight many of Hawai‘i’s natural and cultural resources. We highlight the science of our environment and its ecosystems and also the Hawaiian traditions and uses of these features and systems. Our programs are not just targeted to our guests; we have an extensive outreach program to educate the larger community and schools within Hawai‘i and students visiting from abroad.”
Erin Lee
Director of Landscaping “We offer tours not only of our Four Seasons property, but of the ancient ahupua‘ a [subdivision of land from the mountains to the ocean], the Hu’ehu’e-Ka‘ūpūlehu mauka to makai [mountainside to oceanside] trail, Kalaemanō, and the salt cliffs. Included are explanations of the volcanic eruptions and flows over past centuries; the history of endemic, introduced, and exotic plant and animal species; the richness of the shoreline life that sustained Hawaiians from precontact to recent time. We speak of kuleana (responsibility) and the importance of knowing about the land upon which we work and live.”
Petar Boyadzhiev
Director of Engineering “We are trying to reduce the amount of plastic that is here at the resort. Implementing the patented Boomerang Bottling System and allowing our housekeeping department to have a designated employee to produce the aluminum bottles that are reusable and fully recycled helps cut the carbon emission, which ultimately will help with less waste in our waste management system not only at the resort but also on the island. Giving our employees this opportunity to be part of a solution to take care of this ‘āina (land) has also brought greater awareness of sustainability into their daily lives.”
Nicole Tachibana
Outreach and Education Coordinator “We have about 10 talks and experiences in which we educate guests about Hawaiian culture and natural resources. Our educational talk all about the honu, or Hawaiian green sea turtle, provides an in-depth look at the sea turtle, including its importance to the Hawaiian people for spiritual guidance, and as a resource for both consumption and the shells as tools. During our Hualālai Fishing Derby, we cover many uniquely Hawaiian ways of life. We teach about fishponds as one of the first forms of aquaculture, as well as the fragile ecosystems in Hawai‘i.”
Responsibly harvested herbs, including basil and parsley grown at the Ke‘olu Garden, are part of a dining experience rich in mauō (a new Hawaiian word for “sustainability”) at the resort’s restaurants.
energy,” says De Fries. “It could be hiking into a native forest and being part of a reforestation program, so you have a lead scientist involved, a cultural practitioner that understands the place names, the native plants, the history of that particular ‘āina [land].”
Coastal improvements are underway, too. On Hawai‘i Island, for instance, the Ka’ūpūlehu Marine Life Advisory Committee, the Division of Aquatic Resources, the Hawai‘i Nature Conservancy, and resorts like Hualālai are working together to manage marine areas. At the Ka’ūpūlehu Marine Reserve— located offshore in the 3.6-mile stretch of coastline along the resort, from Kikaua Point (the southernmost side of the resort) to Kalaemanō (the northern side, past Kona Village)—Hualālai’s marine biologists interact with the resort’s guests and Members and with state agencies to provide education and elevate the public discourse on the marine resources found in the reserve (and across the islands). They work to ensure that management methods, incorporating both traditional Hawaiian practices and modern techniques, adequately protect critical fisheries, such as the reef fish and opihi (limpet) populations fronting Hualālai.
“When done well, as it has been at Hualālai,” De Fries says, “striking the balance between welcoming visitors and residents to a space allows for generating the resources to truly care for that space, providing access to the shoreline and the resources to actively manage that shoreline.”
At Hualālai, even everyday activities like dining are infused with mauō. Oysters and shrimp grown in on-site ponds through the resort’s aquaculture program feed guests in the restaurants. Guests who partake of the responsibly harvested world-class cuisine are also likely to absorb interesting tidbits about the rich heritage of Hawaiian fishing, the islands’ modern fisheries, and more.
Guests of the Four Seasons Resort Hualālai also now receive aluminum water bottles to use—and refill at the resort’s 27 filling stations—during their stays, thanks to a recently installed water bottling and filtration system on-site. The patented Boomerang Bottling System removes all impurities and toxins from locally sourced water before bottling it in reusable aluminum containers. Guests return the containers, which are sanitized, refilled, and sealed for redistribution, ultimately reducing carbon emissions by 95 percent per bottle.
Such efforts recall Hawai‘i’s long-standing tradition of caring for the land. “You’re beginning to see the messaging now built around mālama [to take care of, to preserve and protect] as a Hawaiian value,” says De Fries, who favors a return to community-based “niche” tourism over the mass tourism Hawai‘i has seen in the past. “For a century, Hawai‘i has become synonymous with aloha and the spirit of aloha, and that will always be there. But what we are doing now is coupling aloha with a sister Hawaiian cultural value of mālama. And so mālama is now becoming, with greater emphasis, a Hawaiian cultural value.”
The focus is on keeping Hawaiian culture at the center of the tourism experience and leaving the Hawai‘i Islands better than before with each guest’s stay. Native Hawaiians, over time, found a way to exist in an isolated set of islands in a way that was sustainable, in a way that was mauō. Their way lights the way forward.
