SR 76: urging the Governor, MAYORS of each county, and the State to work towards a just climate future by integrating indigenous knowledge into policy and decision-making processes related to climate adaptation, climate mitigation, and climate resiliency.

SENATE RESOLUTION

urging the Governor, MAYORS of each county, and the State to work towards a just climate future by integrating indigenous knowledge into policy and decision-making processes related to climate adaptation, climate mitigation, and climate resiliency.

     WHEREAS, due to the current and projected impacts of climate destabilization on Hawaii and the world, immediate action is necessary for human survival and a chance at a just climate future; and

     WHEREAS, as the original inhabitants of Hawaii, Native Hawaiians have refined their methods of survival based on science and observation throughout the millennia; and

     WHEREAS, Native Hawaiians continue to practice, refine, and share their indigenous knowledge for collective survival; and

     WHEREAS, indigenous knowledge includes practices that have sustained native peoples since time immemorial, and is often referred to as ike kupuna, traditional ecological knowledge, indigenous innovations, and, more generally, cultural practices; and

     WHEREAS, indigenous knowledge also includes native languages, which serve to connect past, present, and future generations to a shared history, culture, and set of values; and

     WHEREAS, indigenous knowledge-based principles are deeply enshrined in the Hawaii State Constitution, as articulated by the right to a clean and healthy environment, protections for the State's natural resources, and the recognition and protection of traditional and customary practices, including Olelo Hawaii; and

     WHEREAS, Hawaii's unique geographical location positions itself to not only cultivate indigenous knowledge, but also to use its location to facilitate and connect shared learnings across Moananuiakea (the Pacific region) and the world; and

     WHEREAS, on June 11, 2024, traditional leaders from across Moananuiakea signed the Tuurama Ariki Declaration, which commits to ongoing collaboration, dialogue, and the exchange of knowledge among Pacific nations to respond to urgent challenges impacting the Pacific region and the planet; and

     WHEREAS, the Legislature recognizes the cascading and ongoing impacts to Hawaii's aina-based, climate-related, and Native Hawaiian groups, due to rapid and ongoing federal level changes that reverse longstanding and critical environmental, social, and political policies, which are likely to impact residents now and for generations to come; and

     WHEREAS, an equitable and just climate future cannot be achieved without purposeful, meaningful, and consensus methodologies that integrate indigenous knowledge into the policy and decision-making processes of the State; now, therefore,

     BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Thirty-third Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2025, that the Governor, Mayor of each county, and the State are urged to work towards a just climate future by integrating indigenous knowledge into policy and decision-making processes related to climate adaptation, climate mitigation, and climate resiliency; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Governor, Mayor of each county, and the State are urged to formulate and identify goals to facilitate a just climate future that purposefully and meaningfully includes indigenous knowledge as an integral component; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that Olelo Hawaii is urged to be invested in, integrated, and practiced as a key mechanism to achieving a just climate future; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Governor, Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, and Mayor of each county.

Report Title:

Just Climate Future; Indigenous Knowledge; Olelo Hawaii

SENATE RESOLUTION

urging the Governor and the State to work towards a just climate future by integrating indigenous knowledge into policy and decision-making processes related to climate adaptation, climate mitigation, and climate resiliency.

     WHEREAS, due to the current and projected impacts of climate destabilization on Hawaii and the world, immediate action is necessary for human survival and a chance at a just climate future; and

     WHEREAS, as the original inhabitants of Hawaii, Native Hawaiians have refined their methods of survival based on science and observation throughout the millennia; and

     WHEREAS, Native Hawaiians continue to practice, refine, and share their indigenous knowledge for collective survival; and

     WHEREAS, indigenous knowledge includes the practices that have sustained native peoples since time immemorial, and is often referred to as ike kupuna, traditional ecological knowledge, indigenous innovations, and, more generally, cultural practices; and

     WHEREAS, indigenous knowledge also includes native languages, which serve to connect past, present, and future generations to a shared history, culture, and set of values; and

     WHEREAS, indigenous knowledge-based principles are deeply enshrined in the Hawaii State Constitution, as articulated by the right to a clean and healthy environment, protections for the State's natural resources, and the recognition and protection of traditional and customary practices, including Olelo Hawaii; and

     WHEREAS, Hawaii's unique geographical location positions itself to not only cultivate indigenous knowledge, but also to use its location to facilitate and connect shared learnings across Moananuiakea (the Pacific region) and the world; and

     WHEREAS, on June 11, 2024, traditional leaders from across Moananuiakea signed the Tuurama Ariki Declaration, which commits to ongoing collaboration, dialogue, and the exchange of knowledge among Pacific nations to respond to urgent challenges impacting the Pacific region and the planet; and

     WHEREAS, the Legislature recognizes the cascading and ongoing impacts to Hawaii's aina-based, climate-related, and Native Hawaiian groups, due to rapid and ongoing federal level changes that reverse longstanding and critical environmental, social, and political policies, which are likely to impact residents now and for generations to come; and

     WHEREAS, an equitable and just climate future cannot be achieved without purposeful, meaningful, and consensus methodologies that integrate indigenous knowledge into the policy and decision-making processes of the State; now, therefore,

     BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Thirty-third Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2025, that the Governor and the State are urged to work towards a just climate future by integrating indigenous knowledge into policy and decision-making processes related to climate adaptation, climate mitigation, and climate resiliency; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Governor and the State are urged to formulate and identify goals to facilitate a just climate future that purposefully and meaningfully includes indigenous knowledge as an integral component; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that Olelo Hawaii is urged to be invested in, integrated, and practiced as a key mechanism to achieving a just climate future; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Governor, Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, and Mayor of each county.

Report Title: 

Just Climate Future; Indigenous Knowledge; Olelo Hawaii

STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1383

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    S.R. No. 76

       S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2025

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Agriculture and Environment, to which was referred S.R. No. 76 entitled:

"SENATE RESOLUTION URGING THE GOVERNOR AND THE STATE TO WORK TOWARDS A JUST CLIMATE FUTURE BY INTEGRATING INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE INTO POLICY AND DECISION-MAKING PROCESSES RELATED TO CLIMATE ADAPTATION, CLIMATE MITIGATION, AND CLIMATE RESILIENCY,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to:

     (1)  Urge the Governor and the State to:

          (A)  Work towards a just climate future by integrating indigenous knowledge into policy and decision-making processes related to climate adaptation, climate mitigation, and climate resiliency; and

          (B)  Formulate and identify goals to facilitate a just climate future that purposefully and meaningfully includes indigenous knowledge as an integral component; and

     (2)  Urge the investment, integration, and practice of Olelo Hawaii as a key mechanism to achieving a just climate future.

     Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Climate Protectors Hawaii, Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs, Kupuna for the Moʻopuna, Hawaiʻi Public Health Association, Climate Change and Health Working Group, 350Hawaii.org, Coalition Earth, Sierra Club of Hawaiʻi, and eleven individuals.

     Your Committee finds that the State has long been a recognized leader in environmental rights and the preservation of natural resources.  Your Committee further finds that the integration of indigenous knowledge or indigenous traditional ecological knowledge has gained national and international attention as a crucial key to addressing the climate crisis.  Due to unique climate change impacts affecting Hawaii, indigenous knowledge reflected in island-based science responses can enhance the State's capacity to adapt to and recover from climate-driven challenges.

     Your Committee has amended this measure by:

     (1)  Urging the Mayors of each county to:

          (A)  Work towards a just climate future by integrating indigenous knowledge into policy and decision-making processes related to climate adaptation, climate mitigation, and climate resiliency; and

          (B)  Formulate and identify goals to facilitate a just climate future that purposefully and meaningfully includes indigenous knowledge as an integral component;

     (2)  Amending its title accordingly; and

     (3)  Making a technical, nonsubstantive amendment for the purposes of clarity and consistency.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Agriculture and Environment that is attached to this report, your Committee concurs with the intent and purpose of S.R. No. 76, as amended herein, and recommends its adoption in the form attached hereto as S.R. No. 76, S.D. 1.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Agriculture and Environment,