To get a better understanding of the complexity of private and public land and public right of way, we took a tour of beaches along the Waikīkī shoreline via Google Maps with the state Department of Land and Natural Resources.
The Conversation spoke to Michael Cain, administrator of the Office of Conservation and Coastal Lands at the DLNR, about work being proposed to deal with disappearing sands on a man-made beach and the possibility of creating a new beach on the Fort DeRussy end of Waikīkī.
Cain said that seawalls went up in the area between 1910 and 1920, which immediately led to increased beach loss. Since then, when we've had a beach, it's been one that’s created through imported sand.
He also shared that the walkways along the top of the seawall are not formal easements, but because the public has used them for close to 100 years, the courts recognize them as a public right-of-way.
“Our understanding of DLNR is that the seawalls remain private and that it's the responsibility of the resorts to repair their sea wall,” Cain said. “And then we understand that it will be our responsibility to improve the walkway on top with railings with a smoother surface.”
The public has previously used Halekulani walkway as a thoroughfare, but it is currently very unsafe to use.
Cain added that it is too dangerous for the DLNR to begin surface repairs though it has issued an emergency permit to Halekulani to repair a section of it.
“We can't do our surface repairs until they stabilize the wall itself,” Cain said. “The boundary wall between the Halekulani and the beach right-of-way is where we see a lot of significant damage, and we see this wall actually starting to fail.
“It was a wall that was buried under the sand for decades, so we weren't even aware that it was there. So it wasn't even designed for a walkway. It never had railings, but tourists and locals continue to use it.”
Caine said that one of OCCL's missions is to protect lateral access on the shoreline, but the challenging step will be with the final design that will involve multiple jurisdictions.
The department is also looking into an idea of restoring reef flats in the Fort DeRussy area in hopes that it would bring more sand through the retained area and mitigate some of the waves that are hitting the hotels.
Cain said that the harsh reality of coastal erosion and rising sea level is that this damage we're seeing is entirely caused by us.
“There's a tendency to blame everything right now on rising seas," Cain said. "And there is that element, of course, but the problem in Waikīkī is that the offshore reef flats have been dredged. [The] problem is that seawalls were built across the beach, thus impounding the sand and not allowing a beach to breathe. So this is an artificial, engineered shoreline. And if we want a beach, we'll have to manage it and nourish it.”
This interview aired on The Conversation on May 8, 2025. The Conversation airs weekdays at 11 a.m.
