Posted on: Monday, June 14, 2004
EDITORIAL
Ala Wai project crucial for Honolulu
At one time, the Hawaiian ecosystem largely took care of itself. Fields, swamps, watershed areas and coastal beaches worked as an integrated whole.
Who: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the state Department of Land and Natural Resources What: An environmental impact statement scoping meeting for the Ala Wai Canal Project. When: 6:30 p.m., June 29. Where: The Hawai'i Convention Center, 1801 Kalakaua Ave. Comments: To comment on the project, write to the Department of Land and Natural Resources, 1151 Punchbowl St., Room 221, Honolulu, HI 96813, and include three copies. Comments are due by July 8. Fundamentally, we must accept this. Nature is not stagnant.
Still, our environmental responsibility is not simply to take what is given to us and use it to our advantage. We have an obligation of stewardship, so that those who follow will also enjoy and profit from what the land has to offer.
In that context, an ambitious federal-state project for the Ala Wai watershed is worth enthusiastic support.
This is primarily a flood control project, aimed at restoring the ecosystems of Makiki, Manoa and Palolo streams that wander through urban Honolulu and feed into the Ala Wai Canal.
But it is more than that. The $60 million project, as described by writer James Gonser, would bring back a semblance of balance between nature and urbanization in this most dense portion of Honolulu.
No one expects that this area will be returned to its natural state. But there is value in recognizing how the environment behaved and reacted to itself before human growth took over.
If this project can improve water quality, restore remaining ecosystems and protect against inappropriate and unnecessary flooding, it will be more than worth the cost.
A first public meeting on the Ala Wai Canal Project, as it is called, is set for June 29. Strong public support is critical.
That began to change almost immediately after human habitation, when taro wetlands, pastures, rice fields and others reflected man's interest in managing nature to his own interest.
Impact meeting
