A New Course at Windward Community College to be Offered Spring 2004:

IS 201 The Ahupua‘a

Study of the traditional Hawaiian approaches to natural resource development, utilization, exploitation, and management. The ahupua‘a, as the traditional Hawaiian unit of land and sea subdivision, beginning in the upland forests, stretching across lower elevations, past the shoreline to the edge of the reef, will be evaluated as a microcosm of an integrated ecosystem and as a model for natural resource management and sustainability. (2 hours lecture; 3 hours lab/field)

COURSE GOALS

Upon completion of this course the student should understand and appreciate:

Ø the history and functioning of the ahupua‘a as a system for acquiring and managing resources;

Ø how the ahupua‘a integrated every aspect of Hawaiian life;

Ø the way in which the ahupua‘a models as a microcosm of the interaction between humans and their environments;

Ø how the ahupua‘a concept may, or may not, be integrated with modern resource utilization and management practices; and

Ø how we as humans have always impacted our environment, how we are a part of that environment, not independent of it.

COURSE OBJECTIVES

Upon completion of this course a student should be able to describe and discuss analytically the following topics:

Ø geologic origin, geography, and biogeography of the Hawaiian island chain;

Ø formation and characteristics of Hawaiian soils;

Ø formation and evolution of Hawai‘i’s coral reefs;

Ø origins of native Hawaiian flora and fauna, both terrestrial and marine;

Ø reconstructing Hawaiian prehistory through archaeology;

Ø how native resources were used and managed by the Hawaiians;

Ø utilization, and management of resources transported to the islands by the Hawaiians;

Ø history and characteristics of the ahupua‘a;

Ø distribution, development, utilization, and management of resources from the different regions of the ahupua‘a: the mountains (uka), plains (kula), and ocean (kai);

Ø traditional Hawaiian life in the ahupua‘a, and the importance of the ahupua‘a system in sustaining not only natural resources, but also cultural, human, and spiritual resources;

Ø history of human occupation and impacts in the Hawaiian islands;

Ø history of land tenure and ownership in Hawai‘i and how changes in tenure and ownership have influenced Hawaiian natural resources;

Ø the nature and functioning of watersheds and their hydrologic networks as identifiable ecosystem and management units and how watersheds relate to the ahupua‘a;

Ø the importance of water as a resource in traditional Hawaiian terms and those of modern society; and

Ø the concept applied to modern natural and developed resource management and conservation approaches.

For more information (including waiver of prerequisites), please contact Dave Krupp (236-9121; krupp@hawaii.edu).

http://krupp.wcc.hawaii.edu/IS201/is201.htm