Frommer's Kauai - Jeanette Foster [51]
If there is one place on the planet that signifies eco-tourism (defined as a place people visit because of the ecology: the ocean, the beach, the mountains, and beauty of the place)—it’s Kauai.
In many respects the ancient Hawaiians not only knew about sustainable resources, but also practiced sustainability in their daily lives. They had to! When the ancient Hawaiians occupied the islands they did not have the luxury of “importing” goods from anywhere else. They had the land under their feet and the ocean to gain sustenance from, and those resources had to last not only for their immediate lifetime, but also for the lifetimes of generations to come. So these ancient people lived in harmony with the land and sea and had a complex social structure that managed resources and forbade the taking of various resources during certain times of the year, to allow those resources to replenish themselves.
Now fast forward to the 21st century. Today, we, the current stewards of the islands of Hawaii, are just beginning to appreciate just how wise and advanced the “ancient” Hawaiians were. In some ways, the state of Hawaii has pioneered various ways to protect and save its national resources (for example, Hawaii is second only to California in the number of marine reserves in the National System of Marine Protected Areas), but in other ways, Hawaii falls short of the example set by the ancient Hawaiians.
The State of Hawaii has several excellent stewardship programs to preserve the ocean environment and its resources, ranging from Marine Life Conservation Districts to Fishery Management Areas (where what you can take from the ocean is restricted) to Fishery Replenishment Areas to Estuarine Reserves. On land, there are corresponding programs to protect the environment, from the Soil and Water Conservation District to Watershed Reserves.
In the visitor industry, the majority of hotels have adopted green practices, not only to save the environment, but also to save money. Nearly every hotel in the state will have a card in your room asking you to consider if you really need a new towel or if you can hang it up and use it 1 more day. Various statewide organizations have numerous programs recognizing hotels which are helping the environment, such as the Green Business Awards Program.
Kauai has a number of recycling centers ranging from sites that collect recyclable bottles only to places that take everything. For a list of recycling centers, visit the Hawaii State Department of Health website (http://hi5deposit.com/redcenters.html).
Restaurants across the state are using more local products and produce than ever. Many proudly tell you that all of their products were grown, grazed, or caught within 100 miles of their restaurant. You can support this effort by asking the restaurant which items on their menu are grown or raised on the island, then ordering the local items (for example, drink Kauai coffee, not a coffee from Central America; eat local fish, not imported seafood).
Below are helpful hints travelers to Hawaii might keep in mind during their adventure to the islands, so that their ecological footprint on Hawaii will be minimal.
IN THE OCEAN
• Do not touch anything in the ocean. In fact unless you are standing on the sandy bottom where the waves roll into shore, try not to walk or stand on the ocean floor. The no-touch rule of thumb not only is for your protection (there are plenty of stinging, stabbing things out there that could turn your vacation from fun into a nightmare), but also for the protection of the marine environment. Corals are living things that take years to grow, and a careless brush of your hand or foot could destroy them. Fragile habitats for marine critters can be damaged forever by your footprint.
• Don’t feed the fish, or any other marine creature. They have their own food; their natural diet can be irreparably harmed by your good intentions to feed them “people food” or even worse, some “fish food” you have purchased.
• Leave the ocean and beach area cleaner than you found it. If you see trash in