When it’s all over mid- September, I wonder how Chipper Wichman Jr. is going to feel, having been the spark that began the years-long process to bring the IUCN’s World Conservation Conference, themed “Planet at the Crossroads” to Hawai’i. Before we livestreamed yesterday, I asked Randall Tanaka what message was most important for him to communicate. His answer surprised me: legacy. How will we in this host community- whether we participate directly or indirectly -leverage the opportunities it is providing?
We don’t have to wait until September. Opportunities are already happening. Justice Antonio Herman Benjamin, who serves on the World Commission on Environmental Law of the IUCN, was in town visiting fishponds (conservation projects) and speaking. I caught part of a breakfast gathering both he and Randall Tanaka were featured in at the Department of Land and Natural resources Friday. It was a live demonstration of the way experts from very different conservation experiences can assist us in avoiding catastrophic resource degradation, and mitigating the damages we have already sustained, most effectively.
A couple of friends have inquired about where to sign up to volunteer at the IUCN Congress: here.
Breakfast Gathering at DLNR with (facing left to right) Professor Denise E. Antolini Richardson Law School, DLNR first deputy Kekoa Kaluhiwa, Justice Antionio H. Benjamin of Brazil’s High Court, Associate Justice Michael D. Wilson of Hawaiʻi Supreme Court, and Randall Tanaka, Executive Director, Hawai’i’s World Conservation Congress National Host Committee
Hawaiʻi Is My MainLand 
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