The University of Hawaiʻi‘s is moving forward in partnering with the state (DLNR) to attract private grant funding for a new training academy to develop much-needed enforcement officers in the Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement (DOCARE).
This initiative received strong support this year from the governor and legislature, which provided $500,928 for the academy.
DOCARE‘s mission is to uphold local laws that protect the state’s natural, historic and cultural environments.
In 2017, a private grant of $148,000 received by law school from the philanthropic in 碍ā苍别ʻ辞丑别 provided critically needed consulting work by a national authority on conservation officer enforcement training. This grant allowed DOCARE to design a new officer training academy to build legal enforcement capacity in the state.
Since 2013, the law school has received additional private and federal grants, totaling around $490,000 (including from the Castle Foundation), which have supported six full-time fellowships for law school graduates in DOCARE.
The law school has been instrumental in building environmental enforcement capacity through a training academy and a series of fellowships for law graduates.
Associate Dean says the decade-long partnership with DLNR is an important way to achieve increased protection of Hawaiʻi‘s fragile environment, which is under pressure from invasive species, climate change and record usage by visitors.
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—By Beverly Creamer