“SO MUCH FOR ACCESS:” DIFFERENCE, BENEFITS, AND BARRIERS AT HAWAII’S SHORELINES

ABSTRACT

Hawai‘i Island’s shorelines provide intangible and tangible benefits for the island’s residents and visitors. This paper examines residents’ access to, values associated with, and uses of Hawai‘i Island’s blue spaces. It finds that Native Hawaiian residents and those who ascribe to Native Hawaiian cultural values encounter barriers to experiencing the diverse shoreline benefits they value. In-depth interviews reveal that although all shorelines on Hawai‘i Island are designated as public property, individuals’ abilities to access shorelines and shoreline benefits are not equal in this postcolonial context. We find that the Native Hawaiian ethic of care and reciprocity is present among the some of island’s long-time residents, and suggest that an extension of this ethic into formal shoreline regulation and community and tourist educational programming may ensure culturally appropriate access to the diverse benefits blue spaces provide.

Keywords:

• blue space benefits
• Cultural Ecosystem Services
• Hawai‘i

Acknowledgments

We extend our appreciation to the residents of Hawai‘i Island who participated in this research, and to members of the West Hawai‘i Division of Aquatic Resources, Becky J. Ingram and Kirsten Leong at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Supin Wongbusarakum, and Shane Akoni Nelsen in the Office of Hawaiian Affairs. We also thank the University of Vermont Gund Institute for Environment, Economics for the Anthropocene, and the University of Vermont Rubenstein School. The Rubenstein Chrysalis Award and the Ian Worley Award helped to fund this research, and we are deeply grateful.