This report has been cataloged as follows:
Hawaii. Dept. of Business, Economic Development and Tourism. Planning for sustainable tourism. Honolulu: 2005.
Multiple volume report by various authors.
1. Tourism-Planning-Hawaii. 2. Tourism-Government policy-Hawaii. 3. Sustainable development- Hawaii. G155.H3.H32.2005
Infrastructure & Environmental Overview Study Volume I: State of Hawaii 1
Introduction to the State of Hawaii 2 Recommendations for State of Hawaii 8 State of Hawaii – Water Quality and Quantity 16 State of Hawaii – Sewage 21 State of Hawaii – Solid Waste Disposal 23 State of Hawaii – Storm Water 28 State of Hawaii - Roads 30 State of Hawaii – Airports 35 State of Hawaii – Harbors 39 State of Hawaii – Parks 44 State of Hawaii – Police, Fire and Emergency Services 50 State of Hawaii – Visitor Accommodations 51 State of Hawaii – Private Transportation 58 State of Hawaii – Energy Systems 60 State of Hawaii – Sewer Systems 67 State of Hawaii – Introduction to Environmental Features 68 State of Hawaii – Coastal Water 70 State of Hawaii – Marine Ecosystems Health 74 State of Hawaii – Forestry / Green Space 82 State of Hawaii – Air Quality 93 State of Hawaii – Beach Erosion 98 State of Hawaii – Invasive Species 105 State of Hawaii – Native/Extinction 116 State of Hawaii – Riparian Zones 121 Reference List 125 Contacts List 138 Appendix 141
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Introduction to the State of Hawaii
Purpose of Study This report is an investigation into hundreds of federal, state, county, district / community / regional and private documents reviewing public and private infrastructure elements and environmental features to establish a baseline of data for the year 2000 and to identify constraints and opportunities for the State and county agencies through the year 2020. The baseline data includes identifying the current condition of the physical infrastructure and environment. This includes the present capacity and usage, existing problems and opportunities, future capacity and usage, future changes, anticipated costs for changes, problems and opportunities associated with costs, visitor impact versus residential impact and any major assumptions.
The report endeavors to outline the limiting factors for key natural resources and physical infrastructure, and then propose mitigating measures to circumvent or alleviate the limiting factors. Additionally, identification of interrelationships between infrastructure elements, natural resources and projected growth is key to uncovering potential bottlenecks and latent possibilities.
Background Act 259 of the 2001 Legislature requested the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism (DBEDT) to conduct a study on Hawaii’s capacity to sustain future growth in tourism. Impetus for study came from nearly 7 million visitors in 2000 and prospects for future growth bring back concerns about the impact of visitors on the environment, public and private infrastructure residential standard of living and the visitor experience. Another concern is the need for a tool to effectively measure the impact tourism has on the physical infrastructure and natural environment.
Structure of Report This report consists of five volumes covering the state summary and each county. Each county volume begins at the county level, and then proceeds to each planning district or community level. Each infrastructure element is reviewed at each level. Environmental features are reviewed at the county level. When information was available for a particular visitor related area, like Waikiki, Lahaina, Kohala or Poipu, a comprehensive summary, based on an Environmental Impact Statements submitted for developments in the areas, were compiled. Close attention was paid to county planning documents and district or community plans where available.
Research was conducted in four phases. The first phase of research was to review the most recent (1990 or later) county and community or district general plans. These documents tended to provide the parameters of present capacity
Planning for Sustainable Tourism in Hawaii Carter & Burgess, Inc. Infrastructure & Environmental Overview Study Volume I: State of Hawaii 3
and usage, existing problems (possibly visitor impact), opportunities, some future changes and major assumptions. In the second phase, governmental master plans and capital improvement project budgets were reviewed. These documents supplied parameters regarding future and planned usage, future and planned requirements or changes, anticipated costs for future requirements and problems, issues and opportunities associated with costs. The third phase of research involved searches of the Internet, agency libraries and state libraries for referenced material from the aforementioned documents. Additionally, any documents requested by DBEDT were reviewed for information. In the final phase, faxes and phone calls were made to various agencies to accumulate any outstanding information.
The following are the infrastructure and environmental features reviewed. The evaluation parameters are listed at the end. A response of N/A within the summaries means that either the parameter did not apply to the environmental feature discussed or that there was no infrastructure element present in that area. Examples: future usage of beach erosion and no harbors on Central Oahu.
• Public Infrastructure o Terrestrial Water Quality and Quantity o Sewage o Solid Waste Disposal o Storm Water o Roads o Airports o Harbors o Parks o Police, Fire and Emergency Services • Private Infrastructure o Visitor Accommodations o Private Transportation o Energy Systems o Sewer Systems • Environmental features o Coastal Water Quality o Marine Ecosystem Health o Forestry / Green Space o Air Quality o Beach Erosion o Invasive species o Natural / Scenic Resources Native and Extinction Issues Riparian/Wetlands Trails
• Evaluation Parameters
Planning for Sustainable Tourism in Hawaii Carter & Burgess, Inc. Infrastructure & Environmental Overview Study Volume I: State of Hawaii 4
o Present capacity and usage o Existing problems, issues and opportunities o Future and planned usage o Future and planned requirements and changes o Anticipated costs for future o Problems, issues and opportunities associated with costs o Current and future visitor and resident impacts o Major assumptions
The following outline is the overall structure to the report. Each geographic area is followed by the infrastructure and environmental feature summaries. An introduction is supplied at the beginning of each county and recommendations follow the county level summaries. Visitor related area summaries, supplied by environmental impact statements for various developments, are interspersed at geographically appropriate intervals.
• Hawaii State o Hawaii County Puna South Hilo North Hilo Hamakua North Kohala South Kohala North Kona South Kona Kau o Maui County Wailuku- Kahului Lahaina Kihei-Makena Makawao-Pukalani-Kula Paia-Haiku Hana Lanai Molokai o City and County of Honolulu Primary Urban Center Central Oahu Ewa Waianae North Shore KoolauLoa KoolauPoko East Honolulu o Kauai County
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