Leading Hawaiian Conservationist Wins 2002 National Wetlands Award

May 2002

Ka’apikapika Angel Pilago, a wetland conservationist from Kona, Hawaii, has won the 2002 National Wetlands Award for Outstanding Wetlands Program Development. He will be honored at a ceremony on May 16, 2002, at the U.S. Botanic Garden in Washington, DC.

Mr. Pilago is the founder and executive director of the Kohanaiki ’Ohana and has initiated innovative programs empowering the community to take an active role in land stewardship — connecting Hawaiian cultural practices to environmental resources. He has a long history of protecting the fragile natural and cultural resources of Hawai’i, and played a key role in a legal victory to maintain traditional fishing and gathering rights in the Anchialine ponds and wetlands at Kohanaiki in Kona. The victory led to a new state law that not only protects wetlands, but also provides strong tools to ensure environmental justice, human rights, and public use of resources. The new law requires cultural impact statements as part of environmental impact statements.

Building on these legal gains, Mr. Pilago is working to establish the North Western Hawaiian Islands as a national marine sanctuary. In 2000, the Anchialine Pond Restoration Project to protect the aquatic resources won national recognition as a Five Star Restoration Site. The project built partnerships between students, landowners, businesses, and government agencies to foster sustainability for this biologically diverse place.

“Due to Mr. Pilago’s commitment and dedication, the community is now in a position to negotiate public acquisition of the Kohanaiki lands, ensuring permanent protection of the wetlands,” said J. Curtis Tyler III, Council Member of Hawai’i County Council in Kailua-Kona, Hawai’i.

In discussing his efforts and accomplishments, Mr. Pilago points to a Hawaiian proverb, Olelo No’eau by author Mary Kawena Pukui, that reflects his reasons for advocating on behalf of wetlands protection: “Mohala i ka wai ka maka o ka pua. Unfolded by the water are the faces of the flowers. Flowers thrive where there is water, as thriving people are found where living conditions are good.”

Since 1989, the National Wetlands Awards program has honored exceptional individuals who have demonstrated extraordinary effort, innovation, and excellence in wetland conservation, research, or education through programs or projects at the regional, state, or local level. The program is co-sponsored by the Environmental Law Institute, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Natural Resources Conservation Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, USDA Forest Service, and National Marine Fisheries Service. Wetlands provide a vital link between our land and water resources, supplying a variety of unique physical, chemical, and biological functions, said Dale Bosworth, Chief of the USDA Forest Service.

“I offer my congratulations to these environmental heroes and applaud their efforts to safeguard our national wetland heritage for current and future generations,” added Ben Grumbles, Deputy Assistant Administrator of Water at the Environmental Protection Agency.

For more information on the National Wetlands Awards winners, or the ceremony, contact Dorigen Fried at wetlandsawards@eli.org, http://www.nationalwetlandsawards.org/index.htm or (202) 939-3250.