By HARRY EAGAR
Staff Writer
KAPALUA -- The state's ecotourism operators were urged Thursday to band together in order to get as much attention from the Legislature for maintaining Hawaii's natural attractions as the big resort industry gets for marketing.
Speaking at the Kapalua Bay Hotel at the opening panel of the second Earth Maui Nature Summit, Mike Wilson, chairman of the Department of Land and Natural Resources, said Hawaii is in an era of ``declining natural resources.'' Over the past four decades, a quarter of the beaches have disappeared, some fish populations are down 95 percent and at current growth rates, there is only enough fresh water for 40 years.
Yet his department, which manages or oversees half the state's land and all its water, gets only as much money for its various tasks as the state gives the Hawaii Visitors & Convention Bureau -- $35 million this year for DLNR, $24 million for HVCB plus a special appropriation of $10 million for marketing.
Wilson said he is amazed and baffled by a state policy that allocates less money to managing Hawaii's natural endowment than Nevada spends on its, though natural beauty is not the prime reason tourists flock to Nevada.
Yet, he pointed out, the State Constitution defines ``natural beauty'' as one of the state's natural resources to be protected.
At present, Wilson said, people can plunder coral, strip reefs of fish for sale to pet shops or otherwise ignore the ocean conservation laws, because their are no enforcement officers.
Within six months, there will be, but it was a long struggle to get $1.7 million added to his budget for the new program.
He asked for $3.5 million, had that request slashed to $1.7 million in one house, then to zero in the other, before Gov. Ben Cayetano intervened to get some money.
A previous speaker, Hugh Montgomery, who leads hikes on the Big Island, had said good ecotour operators feel they get little support from the state.
(Ray Tabata, vice president of the Hawaii Ecotourism Association, had admitted there is ``a lot of garbage'' flying the banner of ecotourism.)
Wilson acknowledged, ``Many of you may be having a feeling DLNR is not a partner,'' but he said the advocates of ``tourism that can show respect for a special place'' need to speak to the Legislature as effectively as other tourism interests.
He said he was not saying that spending $350 million on a convention center or $35 million a year on promotion is a bad thing. But he questioned whether the state is spending enough protecting the nation's fourth-longest coastline and 11th-largest forest when western states with less to protect spend 10, 20 even 40 times as much money.
The Hawaii Ecotourism Association has a strong interest in ``certification'' to separate the good operators from the bad ones, and in the question-and-answer period, several operators wanted to know if the DLNR would consider limiting access to public lands to operators who are certified. (The certification process is still being worked up.)
Wilson said he would listen to proposals. Already, there is a problem of overuse at ``hot spots.'' ``There's not enough room for everybody,'' he said.
Perhaps certification could be the basis of allowing or denying access when some areas are restricted.
The task of the operators, Montgomery said, is to create an objective system so government ``can tell us from those other guys.''
As examples of bad ecotourism, he mentioned incidents in which guides led hikers across streams during heavy rains, let divers go down without adequate supervision or failed to warn divers against collecting wana (sea urchins).
Bobbee Mills, secretary of the ecotourism association, said the ecotourism advocates have had good success with certification programs for guides and tour drivers (offered on Maui through VITEC at Maui Community College).
The association has more than 150 members, and a recent task has been to draft 10 basic principles of Hawaii ecotourism. To evaluate an ecotour, the customer should ask:
Is it locally based?
How long has it been operating?
How well-prepared are its guides?
Does it use and encourage the use of local products?
Does it provide information on Hawaiian culture?
Does it minimize waste?
Does it respect the aina (land)?
Does it work at an appropriate pace?
Does it avoid overuse of resources?
Is it part of the community?
Montgomery said operators should welcome outside audits; that is, operators from one island should take tours on other islands and offer suggestions.
The industry must police itself to prevent ``the triumph of image over substance.''
The Earth Maui Nature Summit continues through Sunday.
Psy 412 Miami University. Last revised: . This document has been accessed times since July 15, 1997. Comments & Questions to R. Sherman .