Ahupuaʻa Accelerator Initiative

About the AAI

Established in 2021, the Ahupuaʻa Accelerator Initiative (AAI) was created to address express needs in ahupuaʻa restoration focusing, in particular, on community and culturally centered efforts that bridge terrestrial and marine stewardship, conservation, and restoration. The AAI aims to advance conservation efforts across Hawai‘i by appropriately accelerating the enabling conditions for ahupuaʻa restoration and by illuminating potential pathways to advance community and culturally-centered restoration efforts in present-day contexts. The AAI’s core activities enable and support systems-oriented and holistic approaches to resource management, improved environmental outcomes, shared models of practice, and strengthened partnerships between all involved.

The AAI program works in close coordination with an initial network of six Site Partner ahupuaʻa across the state: Kaʻūpūlehu (Hawaiʻi Island), Polanui (Maui), Kawela (Molokaʻi), Kahoʻolawe, Heʻeia (Oʻahu), and Hāʻena (Kauaʻi). We also work closely with a cross-sector, collaborative community of practice broadly encompassing stewardship, conservation, resource management, and community-based practitioners.

In June 2023, the AAI was acknowledged as a distinguished recipient of the Hawaiʻi Conservation Alliance’s Conservation Innovation Award. The award, determined by votes from peers in the Hawaiʻi environmental conservation sector, recognizes programs and efforts that are expected to yield significant advances to the structure or nature of environmental conservation in Hawai‘i.

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