The factors that interact to create a sound island economy are numerous: agriculture, astronomy, construction, creative arts, education, energy, environment and climate change, government, health and tourism.
Balancing the strengths and weakness of the local economy with a look to the future is the goal of the 2022 Hawaii County Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy, a draft report recently published by Hawaii Island Economic Development Board Inc.
The public is invited to comment on the report, located at https://files.hawaii.gov/dbedt/op/spb/Hawaii_County_CEDS_draft_2022.pdf through Sept. 30. Comments should be sent to hi.ceds2022@gmail.com .
The project was developed with the collaboration of dozens of individuals and organizations and through community meetings.
Throughout the process, Hawaii’s rich culture, heritage, traditions and resilience of Indigenous Hawaiians were considered, report authors said. This led to the which led to the working slogan of, “Hawaii Island: Our Island – Our Economy – Our Future ‘I Ka Wa Ma Mua, Ka Wa Ma Hope – Looking Back to Look Forward.”
The roadmap created by the report is looking at a five-year strategy, said report author Jacqui Hoover, executive director and COO of the Hawaii Island Economic Development Board.
“It’s really to help our political leaders and community members to assess where do we want to be and how do we get there,” Hoover said.
Affordability, cost of living, housing and poverty lead the list of concerns, followed by water availability, infrastructure, workforce development and innovation and technology development.
Hoover explained how “wai” means water in Hawaiian, while “wai wai” means wealth.
“Without water there is no life and we consider water to be our wealth,” she said.
The report includes an in-depth analysis of regional strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats associated with a range of issues impacting development on the island.
For example, the Big Island, with its favorable growing conditions, availability of land and strong networks such as the Build Back Better Agriculture Coalition, Kamehameha Schools Food Systems Initiatives and University of Hawaii and Hawaii Community College agriculture and food systems programs is an ideal environment for food production. But with the average age of farmers exceeding 60 years old and no succession plans in place, agriculture is also challenged by the high costs of energy and shipping, declining support from the state and an overall lack of vision, the report states.
Ultimately, the overarching goal of the plan is that the community, stakeholders and county government will once again prioritize “Our Island – Our Economy – Our Future” and work together to increase resiliency, depend on our cultural and social diversity to build more equity, and navigate towards recovery and shared prosperity, the report states.