THE SENATE	S.R. NO.	80
TWENTY-SEVENTH LEGISLATURE, 2014		S.D. 1
STATE OF HAWAII

SENATE RESOLUTION

 

EXPRESSING SUPPORT FOR HAWAI‘I TO HOST THE 2016 WORLD CONSERVATION CONGRESS OF THE INTERNATIONAL UNION FOR CONSERVATION OF NATURE.

 

 

     WHEREAS, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) was founded in 1948 and is the world's oldest and largest global environmental network; and

 

     WHEREAS, the IUCN is a democratic membership union composed of more than one thousand two hundred government and non-governmental organizations and almost eleven thousand volunteer scientists in more than one hundred sixty countries; and

 

     WHEREAS, the IUCN World Conservation Congress convenes every four years and was last held in 2012 in Jeju, South Korea; and

 

     WHEREAS, the IUCN World Conservation Congress is held for almost two weeks and attracts approximately eight thousand delegates from one hundred sixty countries; and

 

     WHEREAS, the IUCN World Conservation Congress has never been held in the United States; and

 

     WHEREAS, the IUCN World Conservation Congress is a two-part international event, composed of:

 

     (1)  The World Conservation Forum, a five-day event open to all registrants to discuss major sustainable development issues, propose solutions, and facilitate the sharing of information and experiences; and

 

     (2)  The Members' Assembly, a five-day deliberative session on policy open to official delegates of member organizations; and

 

     WHEREAS, attendees and active participants include world leaders, leaders in policy and conservation, scientists, academics, experts in alternative energy, indigenous peoples, the business community, prominent world citizens, and Nobel laureates; and

 

     WHEREAS, Hawai‘i possess an extraordinary assemblage of more than twenty eight thousand native plants and animals, ninety percent of which are endemic, making the Hawaiian Islands one of the world's most ecologically diverse locations; and

 

     WHEREAS, these unique biocultural resources are protected by an expansive system of national parks and monuments, natural areas, wildlife sanctuaries, forest reserves, and marine protected areas, including two World Heritage Sites (Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument and Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park); and

 

     WHEREAS, Hawai‘i is a global leader in sustainability and biocultural conservation; and

 

     WHEREAS, Hawai‘i has demonstrated its commitment to key environmental initiatives, such as the Rain Follows the Forest initiative, which seeks to double the amount of protected watersheds in the State over the next ten years; and

 

     WHEREAS, Hawai‘i has made significant strides and commitments in following traditional Hawaiian natural resource management practices through Aloha ‘Aina, the ahupua‘a based system, and the aha moku system; and

 

     WHEREAS, the Hawai‘i Green Growth Initiative, which is a collaboration of leaders from government agencies, businesses, academia, and civil society to achieve targets in energy, food, and ecosystem security for a sustainable, resilient, and prosperous future in the Hawaiian Islands, has also been established; and

 

     WHEREAS, Hawai‘i actively participates with the IUCN  through the leadership of Hawai‘i's seven member organizations -- the Hawai‘i Conservation Alliance, Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum, National Tropical Botanical Garden, Polynesian Voyaging Society, Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Harold L. Lyon Arboretum, and Kamehameha Schools -- and many associated national member organizations, such as the Nature Conservancy; and

 

     WHEREAS, the IUCN World Conservation Congress is an opportunity for regional, national, and international transformational change for the State of Hawai‘i; and

 

     WHEREAS, with increased attention to ocean resources and island systems from world governments, non-governmental organizations, researchers, and the public, Hawai‘i as an island state offers an outstanding opportunity and site for the next IUCN World Conservation Congress; and

 

     WHEREAS, the Hawai‘i IUCN 2016 World Conservation Congress Committee has been working for six years to bring the 2016 IUCN World Conservation Congress to Hawai‘i and sent a delegation of forty experts to the 2012 IUCN World Conservation Congress in South Korea to demonstrate the commitment of Hawai‘i to host the 2016 IUCN World Conservation Congress; and

 

     WHEREAS, if the 2016 IUCN World Conservation Congress were held in Hawai‘i, Hawai‘i would have a priceless opportunity to display its natural and cultural diversity to the world; and

 

     WHEREAS, Honolulu is a world-renowned visitor destination and has the capability and facilities required to stage an IUCN World Conservation Congress; and

 

     WHEREAS, tourism is Hawai‘i's largest employer, revenue producer, and growth sector, and hosting international conferences is critical to the economic well-being of the State; and

 

     WHEREAS, the United States Department of State, on behalf of the United States, has expressed its support for Hawai‘i to host the 2016 IUCN World Conservation Congress; and

 

     WHEREAS, the site inspection by the IUCN evaluation team on February 9-16, 2014, was a tremendous success and demonstrated Hawai‘i's capability, capacity, and commitment to hosting the 2016 IUCN World Conservation Congress; and

 

     WHEREAS, Hawai‘i remains one of two finalists in the competition to host the 2016 IUCN World Conservation Congress, with the other being Istanbul, Turkey, which has also committed resources to support its bid; and

 

     WHEREAS, a final decision will be made in May 2014 on whether Hawai‘i will host the IUCN World Conservation Congress in 2016; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-seventh Legislature of the State of Hawai‘i, Regular Session of 2014, that this body supports Hawai‘i's bid to host the 2016 World Conservation Congress of the International Union For Conservation of Nature; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the President of the United States, United States Secretary of State, United States Secretary of the Interior, United States Secretary of Commerce, United States Secretary of Agriculture, each member of Hawaii's congressional delegation, Governor, Chairperson of the Board of Land and Natural Resources, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Hawaii Tourism Authority, Chairperson of the Board of Directors of the Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau, Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Mayor of the City and County of Honolulu, Mayor of Kauai County, Mayor of Maui County, and Mayor of Hawaii County.

Report Title: 

International Union for Conservation of Nature 2016 Conference