Ka Iwi could evolve
By John L. Culliney
into larger park of wonderSOUTHEASTERN Oahu is graced with a few miles of seaside park land that, in microcosm, might be called the sum of all coasts. From Koko Head to Waimanalo Beach, an astonishing range of recreational diversity has developed along some of the world's most inviting beaches, set amid cliffs and volcanic mountains rising more than 1,000 feet above the blue Pacific.
As you swim, paddle, snorkel or dive, fish, hike, fly a hang glider, ride on horseback, play golf or just drive through this region, spectacular scenery and encounters with nature are ever present.
The region has become known as the Ka Iwi shoreline, named for the adjacent deep ocean channel that separates Oahu from Molokai. Already, some of the Ka Iwi shoreline is heavily used for recreation.
Tiny Hanauma Bay, perhaps the world's most popular snorkelers' destination, draws over a million visitors every year. In the late 1980s, before moderate restrictions on visitor density at the bay were put in place, the numbers were even higher.
In the opinion of environmentalists, including marine scientists, this intensity of use has put Hanauma's reef ecosystem at risk. Significant damage may already have occurred and recovery times are measured in decades.
A new and hopefully definitive study of Hanauma Bay's recreational carrying capacity -- the number or density of visitors that a natural landscape or ecosystem can tolerate and still remain healthy -- is due to start in 1998. It will bear watching by all who have an interest in the future of ecotourism in the state.
It is possible that the study will recommend further restricting the number of visitors to the bay. Of course, optimal or tolerable visitor densities will vary in different kinds of natural areas, but an understanding of limits and consequences regarding the visitor industry's effect on Hawaii's natural wonders is essential.
One solution to high visitor concentration at Hanauma Bay would be to create a larger unified park on the Ka Iwi coast.
For some time, this vision has loomed large in the minds of those who foresee ecotourism developing to a world-class level in Hawaii. At the same time, many residents hope to protect from overdevelopment the last major wild and open coastal country in the vicinity of Honolulu.
Ka Iwi Park could be self-supporting and generate a wide variety of jobs. Park gateways with modest, open-air and pavilion-type visitor centers might be established in Hawaii Kai and Waimanalo.
Here, visitors could purchase entry tickets to several of the park's featured attractions, including Hanauma Bay. They might also arrange to hire a certified park guide to take them on a tour to snorkel or dive, body surf, fish along the blue-water coast, hike, bike or ride on horseback along dramatic trails, or paddle a Hawaiian canoe.
Incorporation of Queen's Beach, with its adjoining land between Sandy Beach and Makapuu Head, into the future park now seems possible. Part of this area would be ideal for a Hawaiian cultural site -- not a theme park but an interpretive development with a strong sense of place and time, perhaps resembling Honaunau on the Big Island.
Around the stream and shallow lagoon just inshore of Queen's Beach, cultural specialists could construct a small Hawaiian village with traditional plantings, residences, a heiau, a canoe house and other features. Demonstrations might include traditional fishing methods and aquaculture, canoe construction, tapa making, etc.
Such a development would provide an incentive to monitor and sustain the quality of the stream effluent from the nearby golf course. It also would go far to protect the rest of this area from damage that has long been inflicted by off-road vehicles.
With the recent discovery here of probable Hawaiian burials, some of which were found this summer to have been rudely unearthed and strewn across the landscape by thrill drivers, protection of this area by means of a re-established Hawaiian presence would be appropriate.
Guided tours by glass-bottom boat or Hawaiian canoe in the park's more sheltered waters might also be popular, perhaps including carefully regulated visits to the bird refuges on Manana and Kaohikaipu islands.
Businesses and recreational centers such as the Oceanic Institute and Sea Life Park need not be affected and might tend to develop a symbiotic association with the larger surrounding park.
Beyond mere enhancement of Hawaii's image as an ecotourism destination and the creation of jobs, there is an overarching prospect for Hawaii's future that emerges from Ka Iwi. It is the chance to show the world that Hawaii is truly a leader in this rapidly growing field of the visitor industry.
Currently, it would appear that some serious course corrections are needed in our approach. Hanauma Bay, for example, suffers from a variety of ills. Ecological problems at the bay have been most often cited; aesthetics, however, have received little consideration.
Some of the developed facilities at the bay have a shabby, 1950s look. Squat, concrete buildings may not be appropriate for a nature preserve in an immensely attractive setting.
Ecotourism should seek to educate residents and visitors alike. Not only maintenance of the environmental status quo but restoration may be necessary in some cases, perhaps including Hanauma.
Wherever possible, ecotourism facilities' designs should feature recycling, composting, solar energy and other earth-friendly technologies. Hawaii should and can become a global leader and teacher in implementing such changes for the future.
Because of overlapping political jurisdictions, however, effectively planning and developing a park like Ka Iwi would require significant, sustained cooperation between state and city agencies.
Some may perceive risk in such enterprise, but the reward is achievement for all. If there is risk, it would seem to be in daring to do some things differently.
John L. Culliney of Waimanalo is education director
at Hanauma Bay. The opinions in Other Views columns are the authors'
and are not necessarily shared by the Star-Bulletin.
