261
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES             H.C.R. NO.            
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 1999                                
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________


                     HOUSE  CONCURRENT
                        RESOLUTION

  REQUESTING THE CONVENING OF A MEETING TO CONSIDER MEANS TO
    ATTRACT CARBON INVESTMENTS TO MITIGATE GLOBAL WARMING
    THROUGH SUSTAINABLE FORESTRY IN HAWAII.



 1        WHEREAS, climate change is an issue of global importance;
 2   and
 3   
 4        WHEREAS, the continuing negotiation of the Kyoto Protocol,
 5   which has been signed by the United States, signals a growing
 6   commitment by the international community to reduce net
 7   emissions of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere; and
 8   
 9        WHEREAS, the Kyoto Protocol identifies flexible mechanisms
10   that are designed to offer access by government and industry to
11   the widest range of options in addressing the climate change
12   issue; and
13   
14        WHEREAS, one of the most innovative elements of the Kyoto
15   Protocol is the recognition of carbon sinks; and
16   
17        WHEREAS, carbon sinks include newly-planted forests on
18   previously cleared or non-forested lands and existing forests,
19   in which trees absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and
20   store or "sequester" it in a solid form as wood; and
21   
22        WHEREAS, although the market for carbon credits is still
23   formative, many companies are already investing in carbon
24   offset forestry (COF) projects for public relations as well as
25   carbon sequestration benefits; and
26   
27        WHEREAS, the Hawaii AES Barbers Point project is an
28   example of a company investing in COF projects by committing
29   moneys for the purchase of land and forest conservation for
30   tropical forests in Paraguay; and
31   
32        WHEREAS, the State of Hawaii has a unique combination of
33   attributes and a window of opportunity to establish COF
34   projects which can be designed in Hawaii that meet all
35   identified international criteria, and that contribute

 
Page 2                                                     261
                                  H.C.R. NO.            
                                                        
                                                        

 
 1   positively to both environmental protection and economic
 2   development in the State; and
 3   
 4        WHEREAS, the State's forest sector has the potential to
 5   offer a surplus of carbon storage credits to the private
 6   sector; and
 7   
 8        WHEREAS, millions of dollars of carbon investments could
 9   be attracted from outside Hawaii to partner with the State and
10   private landowners to mitigate global warming and create a
11   sustainable forest industry that contributes positively to both
12   environmental protection and economic development priorities in
13   the State; and
14   
15        WHEREAS, these goals are possible if the State has a
16   secure land base for reforestation, focused marketing strategy,
17   coordinated governmental land use policy and regulatory
18   climate, and a viable internal forest management capability;
19   and
20   
21        WHEREAS, the Hawaii Forestry and Community Initiative was
22   formed by five state departments (the Department of Land and
23   Natural Resources, the Department of Agriculture, the
24   Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism, the
25   Department of Hawaiian Homelands, and the Department of Labor
26   and Industrial Relations) and three federal USDA agencies in
27   April, 1997, to coordinate the government efforts to encourage
28   value-added forestry for and with local communities; now,
29   therefore,
30   
31        BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the
32   Twentieth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session
33   of 1999, the Senate concurring, that the Hawaii Forestry and
34   Communities Executive Council and the Department of Health are
35   requested to convene a meeting of affected stakeholders to
36   include local utilities and financial institutions, forest
37   investors, private landowners, the agricultural sector, hunter
38   and environmental groups, native Hawaiian groups, and other
39   interested constituents; and
40   
41        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the participants at the
42   meeting consider regulatory, policy, fiscal, and human

 
 
 
 
 
Page 3                                                     261
                                  H.C.R. NO.            
                                                        
                                                        

 
 1   resources that are needed to attract carbon investments that
 2   mitigate global warming through sustainable forestry that does
 3   not displace native vegetation, including the following:
 4   
 5        (1)  Forest inventory needs; 
 6   
 7        (2)  Strategies for the disposition of public wood and
 8             lands to optimize carbon sequestration; 
 9   
10        (3)  Potential COF projects including urban forestry,
11             wildland fire protection, native forest protection,
12             koa reforestation, high-value longer rotation forest
13             plantations, and agroforestry; 
14   
15        (4)  Private landowner partnerships; and 
16   
17        (5)  Appropriate investment instruments to encourage COF
18             projects in Hawaii; 
19   
20   and
21   
22        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Hawaii Forestry and
23   Communities Executive Council report the findings and
24   recommendations of the meeting to the Legislature no later than
25   twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of
26   2000; and 
27   
28        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this
29   Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Director of Health,
30   and the Chairperson of the Hawaii Forestry and Communities
31   Executive Council.
32 
33 
34 
35                         OFFERED BY:  ____________________________