Advocates for a program that will release up to 775,992,000 lab-altered, bacteria-infected mosquitoes in Maui every week for the next 20 years claim it will help prevent the spread of avian malaria, protect humans and reverse the population decline of native bird species.
But local activists argue that an environmental impact study was not performed before the project was launched and warn the possible negative consequences of the mosquito release may outweigh any benefits.
Last year, Hawaii Unites sued the State of Hawaii and the multi-agency partnership backing the mosquito project.
Following a legal setback last month after a Hawaii court granted summary judgment to the state, Hawaii Unites has launched a fundraising campaign, aiming to raise enough money to file an appeal by the end of the month.
Tina Lia, president and founder of Hawaii Unites, joined “The Defender In-Depth” podcast this week to discuss the project.
Lia discussed the legal challenge her organization launched, the powerful entities supporting the project, its future aims and the potential harms the project could cause to humans and the local ecosystem.
According to Lia, the narrative from the project’s proponents “is that they are wanting to suppress the southern house mosquito population here that is carrying avian malaria, which is affecting the endangered and threatened native birds.”
Instead of an environmental impact study, the state completed an environmental assessment, which Lia said is a “much more basic assessment of what could happen.”
“We’ve taken them to court to seek a ruling to require an environmental impact statement, which would mean that they would need to study this extensively,” she said.
In May 2023, Hawaii Unites sued the state in the Circuit Court of the First Circuit in Hawaii. In a Jan. 29 ruling, the court granted the state’s motion for summary judgment.
“Our attorney presented very compelling information,” Lia said. “The state again really couldn’t even answer for themselves.” Yet, “the judge ended up ruling in their favor.”
Project using techniques that have not been tested previously
Lia said the technique being used in Hawaii, known as the “Wolbachia incompatible insect technique” involves the breeding and release of mosquitoes infected with the Wolbachia bacterium.
“The purpose is supposed to be that when they breed with the wild mosquitoes … the offspring won’t be viable,” Lia said. “But it requires the release of huge amounts of mosquitoes to even potentially be effective.”
She added:
“They don’t even know if it’s going to be effective because they’ve never done this before. This is a novel technique that they’re using, and they keep saying ‘this has been done all over the world, it’s been proven safe.’”
Lia listed some potential risks related to the project, which were also outlined in testimony by an expert witness for Hawaii Unites, tropical disease and vector expert Dr. Lorrin Pang, head of Hawaii’s District Health Office for Maui.
According to Lia, there is “potential for the bacteria to transmit in unintended ways … to the existing wild mosquitoes and to other insects, including insect vectors of disease.”
“Another really unstudied concern is that of biopesticide wind drift,” Lia said, noting that the mosquitoes are classified as a biopesticide by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
“There’s also a concern about what’s called superinfection … when the mosquitoes can be infected with multiple strains of the bacteria as opposed to just the one,” Lia said. “We don’t know what can happen with that as far as disease-transmitting capability.”
According to Lia, there are also questions about the methods used to spread the mosquitoes, including helicopters and battery-powered drones, which pose a fire risk and a risk of collision with flocks of birds.
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