Mālama Honua Declarations
Messages from the Ocean People of Island Earth
Our voyaging canoes, Hōkūlea and Hikianalia, have journeyed around the world in order discover and strengthen a global community working to save our oceans and Planet. During the 60,000 nautical-mile voyage, we strung together a “lei” of hope–stories big and small–that are bringing people together and inspiring bold new policies that are leading toward a healthier Island Earth.
The Worldwide Voyage at World Oceans Day 2016
A difference is being made through the bold action of individuals, partners, communities and nations who are committing to the improvements of our oceans and of Island Earth. Click here to learn more about our presentation at World Oceans Day 2016.
Browse Mālama Honua Declarations
As the voyage forges ahead, so too are meaningful and strategic partnerships forming and growing. Entire communities, institutions and governments are prioritizing mālama honua–incorporating an approach to sustainability in ways that are both innovative and appropriate in regards to place and culture. We are honored to share and inspire mālama honua efforts like these:
Message in a Bottle – UN Secretary
In September 2014, Hōkūle‘a and Hikianalia were welcomed to Apia, Samoa, during a global United Nations conference to affirm commitment to the sustainable development of small island developing States (SIDS). During a special sail on board Hōkūle‘a, His Excellency Ban Ki-moon presented Nainoa with a handwritten message in a bottle, asking them to carry it with them as they circle the globe:
“I am honored to be a part of Hokulea’s Worldwide Voyage. I am inspired by its global mission. As you tour the globe, I will work and rally more leaders to our common cause of ushering in a more sustainable future and a life of dignity for all.”
The UN Secretary General confirmed that he would welcome the Mālama Honua Worldwide Voyage to New York City when it arrives in mid-2016.
Watch video coverage of the U.N. Secretary General sail in Apia, Sāmoa.
Backed by the members of the Pacific Island Forum, the Palau Declaration on the Ocean contains commitments from 16 Pacific leaders to take actions globally for conservation and sustainable use of the oceans and high seas.
In Tahiti, the Mālama Honua Worldwide Voyage prompted over twenty organizations to come together to sign the Mālama Honua Declaration presented to the President of French Polynesia and Worldwide Voyage navigator, Nainoa Thompson. It calls for joining forces to protect 20% of the marine environment by 2020, and preserving lagoons, the open sea, and fish stock for future generations.
Click here for the French Polynesia Mālama Honua Declaration.
On the first visit of Hōkūleʻa and it’s crew to American Sāmoa the government there marked the historic landing with this proclamation. The document resolves to “join the family of the world whom Hōkūleʻa has inspired and declare our commitment to care for each other and the natural and cultural environments within which we live.” The proclamation acknowledges the need to be good stewards of one another and of the natural and cultural environment for the longevity of the Samoan culture and way of life.
White House Under Secretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment Catherine Novelli visited Hawaii’s iconic voyaging canoe and presented a “message in a bottle” from Secretary of State John Kerry. Hōkūleʻa delivered this message on June 8, 2016 to the United Nations for World Oceans Day. The message addressed the Our Ocean Conference hosted by Secretary of State Kerry.
Watch video coverage of the US State Department Declaration ceremony.
Click here to view the US State Department Message in a Bottle.
This initiative led by Hawaiʻi’s Harold KL Castle Foundation brings together individuals and organizations from all sectors to increase the health of Hawaiʻi’s oceans by the time the Worldwide Voyage and its return to Hawai’i in 2017. Committed government entities, hotels and corporations, schools, and individuals have signed the Promise to Pae’aina.
Click here to learn more about the Promise to Paeʻāina o Hawaiʻi
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One of the Worldwide Voyage’s core missions is to engage learners across the globe. The Promise to Children outlines the strong bond between the voyaging and education communities starting in Hawai‘i. “It’s a simple document that is written by and authored by educational leadership in Hawaii. But it’s a document that we put on Hōkūleʻa, and we take it around the world,” said Thompson. More than 175 education organizations have already committed to support the Worldwide Voyage, including the Department of the Education and the University of Hawai‘i.
A community of 500 coastal and marine scientists working in the Western Indian Ocean presented this declaration to the 21st United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and to the global community to call for decisive action on climate change.
Click here to view the view the Western Indian Ocean Marine Science Association Declaration.
Shaped by all those in attendance at the World Indigenous Peoples Conference on Education in May 2014, and signed one week before Hōkūleʻa departed Hawaiʻi on the Worldwide Voyage, this declaration affirms that Native youth will stand firm for their identities their rights to health, education and self-governance.
Hōkūleʻa’s campaign to voyage around the world urges to care for each other, our oceans and earth at a critical time in history. Join us in this movement to mālama this precious honua.