How Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Wife Priscilla Chan's $4 Million Donation Helped Preserve A 600-Year-Old Hawaiian Fishpond

(MENAFN- Live Mint) Once Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg came forward to save a 600-year-old fishpond in Hawaii. Alakoko Fishpond, also known as Alekoko or Menehune Fishpond, was reportedly at risk of development until it became permanently protected as a community conservation site, thanks to a hefty donation of $4 million made under the Chan Zuckerberg Initiatives.

About Alakoko fishpond

Covering 102 acres in Niumalu near Līhuʻe on Kauaʻi, the preserved fishpond comes with a 2,700-foot-long kuapā, or fishpond wall. It is said to be the largest remaining fishpond on Kauaʻi. The property was purchased by The Trust for Public Land on November 17, 2021 and then conveyed to the community-based nonprofit Mālama Hulē'ia for community and cultural stewardship.

The conservation effort reportedly gained momentum after Alakoko and its surrounding 102 acres went on the market in January 2021. The Trust for Public Land (TPL) and Mālama Hulē'ia joined forces to protect the area, seeking public funding for its acquisition. It is reported that over 5,500 people came forward to support permanent protection. Community members and organisations also joined the movement. But, it was one donation that secured the future of the site

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When the landowner offered to sell the property, TPL turned to private donors. This is when Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg contributed $4 million through the Chan Zuckerberg Kauaʻi Community Fund of the Hawaiʻi Community Foundation, reported Hawaii News Now.

Although the donation was made to purchase the property, the Hawaiian news outlet reported that Zuckerberg-Chan do not have ownership of the fishpond.

Interestingly, the couple has an estate on the north shore of Kauai.

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According to a report by Times of India, the official documentation ensured that the land will be used for conservation, education and community purposes. It is reported that the protected fishpond is also a part of Native Hawaiian history and traditional aquaculture.

It is said that the community-led restoration efforts are aimed at reviving the ecological health, strengthening cultural connections and providing future generations with opportunities to learn the importance of the site.

Alakoko, around 600 years old, was said to have been historically used to produce fish and limu, or seaweed. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973 and was named one of Hawaiʻi's most endangered historic places in 2009 due to environmental degradation and development-related issues.

However, the fishpond had deteriorated over the years, especially due to invasive mangroves in the area. It's located next to the Hulēʻia National Wildlife Refuge, which also makes it part of a wider wetland ecosystem supporting native species and endangered water birds of Hawaii.

It is said that there are plans to restore Alakoko as a working fishpond and outdoor classroom.

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