HONOLULU (KHON2) — Federal officials want to expand the coconut rhinoceros beetle program in Hawaii — it is currently only active on Oahu.
Some lawmakers said transparency will be key if more funds are granted since the local infestation has only gotten worse since 2014.
The United States Department of Agriculture has been working to contain the spread of CRB on Oahu since 2014, but it has been a losing battle. The beetles have overtaken Oahu and have also been found on Kauai and the Big Island since 2022.
“For too long we keep thinking that, ‘Oh, it’s not that much of a problem. It’s not that much of a problem’ until it reaches a point where now it’s really a problem. And then now we’re in a reactive state versus being proactive,” said Sen. Donovan Dela Cruz, chair of the State Senate Ways and Means Committee.
Federal agriculture officials released a draft environmental assessment on Monday, Dec. 2 that calls to expand Oahu’s CRB response program statewide, a move that would access to more funding.
The Hawaii Department of Agriculture said the current situation is not realistic for containing a statewide problem.
“There just isn’t enough people or resources to do it. And having that stable set of funds and resources to ensure that it doesn’t get any worse than it already is to me is a benefit for everyone,” said HDOA branch manager Jonathan Ho.
Hawaii is the only state in the nation with a CRB infestation, which officials said could be part of the reason why a silver bullet solution has not been developed.
“Maybe there is going to be like an organic chemical or some kind of deterrent that’s really great, just, nobody’s discovered it yet. And I think that’s one of the things where it takes time and we understand that it is frustrating that it can’t be fixed sooner,” Ho said.
The University of Hawaii Plant and Environmental Protection Sciences Department said the USDA already provides their CRB Response team with an annual budget between $1.7 million and $2.9 million per year, the State Department of Land and Natural Resources has also given them $1.5 million over the last decade.
KHON2 asked the Senate Ways and Means Committee chair how the public can check to make sure that both UH and the HDOA are accountable with their funds.
“That’s where I think many of us are trying to see if we can reorganize by statute. How we approach biosecurity and it should be consolidated in one department so that we can hold people accountable so that there’s more transparency, there is more synergy,” Sen. Dela Cruz said.