[ OUR OPINION ]
Rare species need
their ‘homelands’ANALYSIS that the millions of acres placed in conservation across the globe may not be the right ones underscores the difficulty of protecting imperiled species. In Hawaii, where 365 endangered species -- the most in the nation -- teeter on the brink, new strategies are even more crucial as population and other demands on the land continue to mount.
THE ISSUE
A report on global conservation paints a grim outlook for the world's rare flora and fauna.
A report in the journal Nature emphasizes that while 11.5 percent of the world's land is now in protected areas, 20 percent of threatened animal species and 12 percent of all animals have no part of their territories protected. The largest protected areas are in desert or cold climates with less biodiversity, while places rich in rare or unusual species, such as in Pacific islands, have few preserved areas.
The reason is simple: Humans shun harsh environments and are attracted to fertile terrain and forests, placing them in competition with other animals as well as plant life.
Hawaii provides good examples of this rivalry.
To ease traffic congestion in booming Kapolei, a new road connecting to the H-1 freeway will pave over an area where the endangered red ilima, prolific before the land was cultivated for sugar, has re-established itself. But the need for the road is deemed greater, so instead of remaining in its original habitat, specimens of red ilima will be relocated to preserves.
Habitat essential for species survival is often seen as a movable component as with the palila, one of the first birds placed on the endangered list more than 30 years ago. The birds occupy the upper-elevation mamane forests of Mauna Kea, an area that had been degraded by introduced sheep and goats before the state was forced to protect and restore it. The forests are recovering but the bird population is not, an indication that once altered, even the best human efforts cannot reinstate what nature had established.
The plan to upgrade the Saddle Road further threatens the palila as the new route will run through 120 acres designated as the bird's critical habitat. The federal government's solution to set aside about 10,000 acres elsewhere for the palila doesn't acknowledge that it might not survive there. The expected expansion of the adjacent Pohakuloa Training Area for the Army's Stryker Brigade adds to the concern.
Losing biodiversity "makes the world a poorer place," says the report's authors. Rare species can provide clues to everything from human behavior to medical advances. Unfortunately, as long as global and local efforts to protect them bump up against economic and human demands for resources, there is little hope for sustaining them.
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Adding debt isn’t right
move for cityCITY Council members were surprised last month when Mayor Harris proposed no increase in sewer fees because he had said previously they would have to go up by as much as 12 percent.
THE ISSUE
The Council faces a tough choice in raising sewer fees or refinancing the city's debt.
"Magical," was how the Council's budget chairwoman, Ann Kobayashi, described the mayor's change of mind.
Magical, indeed.
Through a financial sleight of hand and a shuffling of the city's debit cards, the administration hopes to avoid ownership of an increase, leaving it to the Council to make a decision that could be called politically incorrect as the November elections approach.
Tough as the choice may be, the Council would be doing the right thing in rejecting Harris's plan to pull $10 million from the city's line of credit to refinance debt owned on sewer construction bonds. The complicated maneuver would spread debt over 30 years so that children not yet born could be footing a bill their parents and grandparents should have been paying. In view of the unpredictable nature of city financing, prolonging payment is fiscally unwise; who knows what other kinds of funding demands taxpayers will be facing three decades down the road.
Sewer fees were last increased in 1993. As can be expected political considerations weighed in on deferring hikes while budget shortfalls prompted shifting of money from the designated sewer fund. Now, however, the piper is demanding his due as the city's aging sewer system requires burdensome repairs and population growth entails expansion.
Like road maintenance and garbage collection, sewers are a basic city service. Residents will accept reasonable raises in fees in order to keep the system flowing. But after 11 years of no increases, a huge boost will smart. Nonetheless, the Council should opt for the increase. Better to pay now than face 30 years of interest charges because the money will come from taxpayers' pockets anyway.
When Harris sent his financial plans to the Council without the fee hike, the administration said higher revenues along with spending curbs would achieve a balanced budget. Councilwoman Barbara Marshall was delighted but also skeptical, asking the administration to "reassure us that these aren't phony savings."
"They are not phony savings," said Budget Director Ivan Lui-Kwan. Maybe not, but in the long run extending debt isn't really saving.
