(water lapping)
(wind blowing)
(distant singing echoes)
(waves crashing, singing continues)
(Kalani Quiocho) The Kumulipo is a creation story
that is significant to Native Hawaiian peoples.
In the very beginnings of this creation story, (volcano rumbling)
we talk about how the Earth was hot and molten,
and how the sky was thunderous and was rolling and roaring. (thunder rolling)
And how that created, if you will, this big boom, and created life.
And we recognize the first biological ancestor as the coral polyp.
(music playing)
And this makes sense for ancient peoples
because they saw it as a foundation for their physical island,
the coral reef.
(Narrator) In native Hawaiian tradition,
nature and culture are one.
That understanding shapes one of the world’s largest conservation zones —
the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument.
Located in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands,
this vast marine protected area
was created by a coalition of many voices —
Native Hawaiians, conservationists, and the support
of the Bush and Obama administrations.
(Randall Kosaki) As a native Hawaiian and a marine scientist
I think I can see so many different ways in which
Papahānaumokuākea is a very special and unique place.
(music playing)
Culturally there’s almost no place like it in the Hawaiian Islands,
it’s one of the most sacred places in our archipelago.
Biologically, it’s one of the last
really great wild places left on Earth.
It ranks up there with the African Serengeti
and the Brazilian rainforest.
I’ve been on probably 25 research expeditions—
and believe it or not, every one that I go on
is the best one I’ve ever been on.
(Narrator) Like national parks on land,
marine sanctuaries and monuments are tools
to sustain biodiversity.
(’Aulani Wilhelm) The best of science tells us, (waves crashing)
and confirms what most fourth graders know.
You keep nature intact, it’s going to be the most resilient.
(music playing)
(Narrator) That resilience is more necessary than ever.
Right now, coral reefs around the world
are being threatened by human actions.
Rising sea temperatures are triggering coral bleaching.
Changing ocean chemistry is making it harder for coral to grow.
Plastics are getting into the marine food chain.
But all of us need a healthy ocean—
to regulate climate, provide oxygen, and supply food. (waves crashing)
(Wilhelm) People don’t realize that the livability of this planet
is actually directly dependent on the livability of the ocean.
If we want to deal with climate,
we have to take better care of our ocean.
We’re going to have to protect as much as we can
as quickly as we can.
(music continues)
(Narrator) Yet protecting nature doesn’t always mean keeping people out.
(Wilhelm) In my 20-plus years in conservation,
I’ve seen a real shift, where first it was,
“People bad. Look at what we’re doing. Let’s protect species.”
And then we looked at species separately,
and then we said,
“Oh, wait. Species need habitat.
They need to roam around.
So let’s protect the roam around, but people still bad.”
And now I’m so happy that we’ve moved to a very old idea
that people are part of nature and actually,
in order to make sure that we care for nature,
we have to put ourselves back in.
(singing song phrase in Hawaiian)
(children repeating phrase)
(Narrator) To reinforce that fundamental connection
between nature and culture,
the next generation is writing new songs.
(singing continues)
(Kainani Kahaunaele) In the song written for Papahānaumokuākea
we acknowledge our geneaology as well.
We descend from the coral,
and so we should treat the coral as if it is our ancestor.
and so we should treat the coral as if it is our ancestor. (singing continues)
(Kosaki) I think one of the most important lessons
that could come out of Papahānaumokuākea
kind of combines culture, and nature, and science.
(waves crashing)
We care for the ocean and then the ocean in turn cares for us.
So, it’s a two-way street and it shouldn’t
only apply to Papahānaumokuākea
this should apply to human activities
across all cultures and across all oceans.
(gentle, hopeful music playing)
(Wilhelm) The challenges we’re facing on this planet are big,
and it’s really hard as individuals to think
that anything I do can make a difference.
(waves crashing loudly, music grows louder)
Every place is amazing.
It may be covered with buildings.
It may have all sorts of turmoil,
but the planet—wherever you live—
is actually amazing.
And so it’s really: How do we find the awesome
every place that we live,
and try to make it a little bit more awesome
in whatever way makes sense for you.
(waves crashing forcefully)