KEALAKEKUA COMMUNITY-LED CORAL RESTORATION PROJECT

KEALAKEKUA COMMUNITY-LED CORAL RESTORATION PROJECT AIMS TO ACCELERATE REEF GROWTH AND RECOVERY

DLNR Hawai’i Video: https://vimeo.com/916525461

(KEALAKEKUA BAY, HAWAI‘I ISLAND) – The Hawai‘i Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) Division of Aquatic Resources (DAR) took part in a second collaborative coral restoration project today with Hawaiian cultural practices and protocols in the waters of Kealakekua Bay, on the Kona side of Hawai‘i Island. Kanu Ko‘a is the name of a community-led project integrating Hawaiian culture, the local community, and the science of coral restoration, and the ceremony emphasized ‘ohana (family) and relationships with ko‘a (corals).

The partnership of local community nonprofit, Hoʻāla Kealakekua Nui, The Nature Conservancy, Hawai‘i and Palmyra (TNC), and the DLNR, organized the Kanu Ko‘a opening ceremony at Kealakekua Bay, which is one of 11 Marine Life Conservation Districts (MLCD) in Hawai‘i.

“Hānau ka ‘ukuko‘ako‘a, the worm or coral polyp, emerged from the lipolipo, the constant darkness where all forms begin,” said Shane Akoni Palacat-Nelsen, president of Hoʻāla Kealakekua Nui. “In the cosmogonic genealogy chant Kumulipo, the coral is mentioned as one of the first physical life forms that emerge, alluding that the coral is a foundational entity for all life forms. The ‘ukuko‘ako‘a is the regulator for ecosystems; without it, ecosystems are imbalanced. That’s why when our village received the distressing news that our coral is severely depleted in our bay, we took it very seriously and applied the kumu kānāwai kīhoʻihoʻi—the edict of regeneration—with modern scientific methodologies.”

Full article: https://dlnr.hawaii.gov/blog/2024/02/27/nr24-19/