The Constitutional Case for Conservation

Many of the arguments I make about conservation could be made simply by quoting the constitution of the state of Hawaii. The same goes for managing resources, protecting agricultural lands, land banking and the regulation of water. Much of what I want to say is embedded in the constitution of Hawai'i. While positions I take are sometimes outside today's “mainstream,” what could be more mainstream than the state’s constitution?

Article XI deals specifically with “Conservation, Control and Development of Resources.” Section 1 of that article says, “For the benefit of present and future generations, the State and its political subdivisions shall conserve and protect Hawaii's natural beauty and all natural resources, including land, water, air, minerals and energy sources ...” It goes on to say, “All public natural resources are held in trust by the State for the benefit of the people.”

The state constitution specifically directs conserving and protecting agricultural lands, as well as promoting diversified agriculture and increasing agricultural self-sufficiency. In a mandate that has yet to be fully implemented, after all these years, the state government is instructed to neither reclassify nor rezone prime agricultural lands needed to fulfill the constitution’s agricultural objectives.

The constitution further directs using public lands to promote farm and home ownership “on as widespread a basis as possible,” as well as to protect and regulate the use of Hawaii’s water resources for public benefit.

Public land banking, which many office-holders approach so timidly, is explicitly affirmed in the constitution as a means “to control future growth, development and land use within the State.”

Lest there be any last shred of doubt about the tone of the constitution, there is an additional paragraph on environmental rights. It says, “Each person has the right to a clean and healthful environment, as defined by laws relating to environmental quality, including control of pollution and conservation, protection and enhancement of natural resources.”

This article also prohibits development of nuclear-fission power plants and places offshore waters and seabeds under state jurisdiction.

Most of this far-reaching and visionary article was developed by the Constitutional Convention of 1978, which wrapped up its work about this time of year. It is important history and should be studied as a political and social expression of concern for sustainability and self-sufficiency.

At the time, I was completing my first term as governor. The revision of the constitution coincided with my development of the Hawaii State Plan. As a duty of my office, I addressed the opening of the convention. Where most influential people were advising the convention that we already had a near-perfect constitution, I reminded the delegates that social and political change is a never-ending process.

With that, I withdrew. When the convention presented its surprisingly large package, I quietly endorsed it. All provisions were ratified in the public referendum, most of them overwhelmingly.

The output of the 1978 convention seems even more remarkable now than it did then. It reveals the handprint of an era in which the general public trusted government.

Life had gotten better by working together in the public sector, and we believed that life could be further improved. We were determined to assert what made Hawaii special and different. We wanted to underscore those qualities, protect them and perpetuate them.

Reading the state constitution today is a reminder of what good tools we have to work with. I would urge you to do your own original research. It will take only a few minutes. It is as close as your fingertips: www.hawaii.gov/lrb.

George R. Ariyoshi, chairman and cofounder of Convergence CT and Cellular Bioengineering, is the former president of Prince Resorts Hawaii Inc. He is active in international business circles, particularly in Asia. An attorney by profession, Ariyoshi served in elective office in Hawaii from 1954 to 1986. He served as governor of Hawaii from 1973 to 1986 and was the first Japanese American to be elected governor in the United States.

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