{"id":156511,"date":"2022-03-15T11:07:49","date_gmt":"2022-03-15T21:07:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=156511"},"modified":"2022-03-15T11:07:49","modified_gmt":"2022-03-15T21:07:49","slug":"law-students-partner-taro-farmers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2022\/03\/15\/law-students-partner-taro-farmers\/","title":{"rendered":"Kaua\u02bbi taro farmers team up with law students to secure water access"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 3<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>

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For centuries, Kauaʻi<\/span> loʻi<\/span> kalo (wetland kalo) farmers have depended on a traditional Native Hawaiian irrigation system that borrows water from Waiʻoli<\/span> Stream. Since 2019, more than 30 students and faculty at the University of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> at Mānoa’s William S. Richardson School of Law<\/a> through its Native Hawaiian and Environmental Law Clinics have partnered with the farmers of the Waiʻoli<\/span> Valley Taro Hui (Hui) to help secure a long-term water lease for their ancient use of water.<\/p>\n

During recovery efforts from the devastating Kauaʻi<\/span> flooding of 2018, the farmers were informed that the ʻāina<\/span> they had stewarded for generations was now zoned as state conservation land, which triggered a maze of permitting and other authorizations. In Waiʻoli,<\/span> on the island\u2019s north shore, the farmers provide important flood mitigation for the surrounding area of Hanalei with expertise on how the water flows and how the entire ecosystem works, offering significant environmental benefits.<\/p>\n

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UH<\/abbr> law students’ involvement included establishing a nonprofit that incorporated the taro farmers; securing a right of entry and easement to access state lands for their water use and to do regular clearing and maintenance of the river; a revocable permit for water use; a watershed management plan; an environmental assessment; a cultural impact assessment; amending the interim instream flow standard; and completing beneficiary consultation with the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands.<\/p>\n

Students have also worked closely with the Hui to testify at the Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> State Legislature, the Board of Land and Natural Resources, and the Commission on Water Resource Management.<\/p>\n

“In our law school classes, we learn about many different areas of law but rarely have opportunities to actually engage with people experiencing the legal process on the ground,” said MJ Palau-McDonald<\/strong>, a third year UH<\/abbr> law student. “I’ve undoubtedly learned a lot about legal permitting under the water code while working with the Hui, but the experience of building client relationships has been the most meaningful to me. Working with the Hui has shown me what it looks like to help co-power communities by translating their ancestral practices into legal jargon that is cognizable to government agencies.”<\/p>\n

Real-world training for law students<\/h2>\n

As a kupa (native) of Kauaʻi,<\/span> Professor Kapua Sproat<\/strong>, director of Ka Huli Ao Center for Excellence in Native Hawaiian Law<\/a>, was already familiar with hardships of the farmers of the Waiʻoli<\/span> Valley Taro Hui, and helped facilitate the clinic. Clinical experience like the law school\u2019s Native Hawaiian and Environmental Law clinics are a requirement for students to graduate and provide important real-world training. At the same time, they provide free legal services to community’s with significant needs.<\/p>\n