Review: Green hour: “Pono Wai: The Responsibility of Ancient Hawaiian Water Rights” (PhD. Uluwehi Hopkins)

Pono Wai: The Responsibility of Ancient Hawaiian Water Rights,” Humboldt Fellow Uluwehi Hopkins opens a window into a world where water is far more than a resource. In Hawaiian culture, wai carries deep meaning and appears in more than 2,000 words. Expressions like wai ola (water is life) show how vital it is for island communities that must live sustainably with what they have.

Hopkins guides the audience through the traditional Hawaiian ahupua‘a system, an interconnected way of organizing land from the mountains to the sea. She explains how freshwater shaped agriculture, community life and leadership. Traditional water laws were remarkably sophisticated. Only a small portion of stream water could be diverted, rights were tied to cultivating kalo and strict consequences ensured fair distribution and collective responsibility.

One of the most vivid examples she shares is old Waikīkī, once a thriving wetland fed by miles of irrigation channels and known as the breadbasket of O‘ahu. Long before modern infrastructure existed, this landscape supported large populations through careful stewardship.

Hopkins’ talk is a reminder that sustainable water management is not a modern invention but a deeply rooted practice. Pono Wai reflects a philosophy in which caring for water means caring for each other, and her presentation makes this message feel both timeless and highly relevant today.

By: Laura Grötsch