HI SR11

Encourages the Board of Land and Natural Resources to enter into a long-term water lease with Waioli Valley Taro Hui for traditional loi kalo (irrigated taro terrace) cultivation using water from Waioli Stream in Kauai.

Recognizes that Waioli Valley's traditional taro cultivation system dates back to at least the fifteenth century and is one of only six Hawaiian streams supporting over fifty acres of kalo cultivation historically.

Notes that 2018 floods destroyed traditional mänowai (instream diversion structures) and äuwai (irrigation ditches), reducing the organization's ability to restore fields and feed the community.

States that any long-term water lease should be pursued through direct negotiation upon completion of environmental review under Hawaii Revised Statutes chapter 343.

Affirms the state's constitutional obligation under Article XII, Section 7 to protect traditional and customary practices of native Hawaiians, highlighting that taro cultivation provides food security, community resilience, and environmental benefits including flood mitigation and groundwater recharge.