The rebuilding of Lahaina after last year's deadly wildfires ravaged the town offers a chance for sustainable, history-based renewal.
On the eve of the first anniversary of the tragedy — which killed 102 people, left thousands homeless, and razed homes and businesses — CNN reported on the effort. The news outlet detailed the task that lies ahead, stakeholders' stances, and the cultural importance of the historic city.
Lahaina, on the island of Maui in Hawaiʻi, over two centuries ago, was a wetland that supported taro patches vital to the Polynesian Hawaiian Kingdom, which included the sacred island Mokuʻula.
Hawaiʻi Gov. Josh Green and Maui Mayor Richard Bissen have pledged that a "historic corridor" will be part of the new Lahaina, according to CNN. However, locals should guide the process — especially the locals who have lived in the community longest — including how to protect their culture and whether the site will even be accessible to the public, County of Maui principal archaeologist Janet Six told the outlet.
Other changes will revolve around water management and reforestation. Part of the reason so much of Lahaina burned so quickly is because of the Kauaʻula, powerful winds that can reach 150 mph. The growth of non-native grasses, though, provided ample fuel. This landscape rose from the island's plantation age when sugarcane fields became the focal point of the economy.
These fields required much water, which was diverted from Lahaina's wetlands. When the crop was abandoned, developers used the water for resorts, golf courses, and a luxury subdivision, CNN reported.
"Hawaiians were really good resource managers," Six told the outlet.
"The thing is, in the West we have this nature-culture dichotomy. You have to throw that out in Hawaiʻi. Where we see resources, they see relatives. Is it natural or is it cultural? You can't tease them apart."
Filling the mountain slopes with native plants and trees lost to the plantations would not only replace fire-prone vegetation but could also help conditions of the past return, affecting rainfall, an aquifer, groundwater springs, and more.
"All those things would have contributed to the Lahaina landscape being considerably wetter than it is today," Noa Kekuewa Lincoln, a University of Hawaiʻi assistant professor of Indigenous crops and cropping systems, told CNN. "I certainly think that's a place to start in terms of what we can do today."
Six added: "So much has been lost, and now these gifts are coming back. You can see Lahaina's returning. Native plants are coming back. For many of the Hawaiians that I work with, it's very hopeful in a time of despair."
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