ABSTRACT
This chapter deals with adaptation challenges and governance complexities in the context of coastal cities and islands, examining the different views and strategies concerning the Ala Wai Flood Risk Management Project in Honolulu, the economic and political center of Hawaiʻi. It focuses on the political tensions entangling Hawaiʻian residents, activists, politicians and the military engineers involved in the project, detailing the clash between the economic growth and the environmental justice paradigms. Drawing from indigenous Hawaiʻian knowledge, deeply rooted in the history and ecology of the islands, Huet proposes an hybrid paradigm shift through a transformation strategy based on the indigenous Hawaiʻian practice of hoʻoponopono: a healing process to repair past injustices and bring reconciliation through a problem-solving attitude.
