Status and Problems of Conservation in Hawaii

Zeenath Sheikh

Environmental and Plant Biology Department

Questions

• What is conservation and factors affecting it ?

• What is biological diversity and factors affecting and controlling it?

• What are the Problems arising in conservation in Hawaii?

• What is biological diversity of Hawaii ?

• Factors threatening biological diversity in Hawaii ?

• Role of Natural conservancy in conservation of Hawaii ?

• Techniques followed by Nature conservancy to achieve conservation in Hawaii?

Questions contd…

• What is the planning and protection methods followed in Hawaii to implement conservation ?

• What is the conservation education undertaken in

Hawaii ?

• Nature conservancy preserves in Hawaii?

• Endangered species in Hawaii?

• Future plans of Nature conservancy for Hawaii?

• Organizations helping in conservation in Hawaii?

Conservation

Maintaining biological diversity by applying the principles of ecology, biogeography, population genetics, economics,sociology, anthropology, philosophy, and other theoretically based disciplines. (Meffe et al., 1997)

Biological Diversity

• Biological diversity - or biodiversity - is the term given to the variety of life on Earth and the natural patterns it forms (Muller 2003)

• A simple measure of biological diversity is the number of species in a given area (Stone and Stone 1989).

Biological Diversity contd..

• The biodiversity we see today is the fruit of billions of years of evolution, shaped by natural processes and, increasingly, by the influence of humans (Muller 2003)

• Species checklist is the most common form of data for this kind of measurement (Stone and Stone 1989).

Factors Affecting Biological Diversity

1. Limiting Factors

2. Physical Complexity

3. Biological Interactions

(Stone and Stone 1989)

– Water– Nutrients

– Space

– Land type(dry/wet, Island/ peninsula)

– Land elevation (high /low)

– Periodic disturbances

- Commensalism

– Mutualism

– Parasitism

Factors Threatening Biological Diversity

1. Human overpopulation

3. Invasion of alien plants and species

4. Nuclear war and nuclear winter

5. Air pollution and climatic change

2. Fragmentation of habitat

(Stone and Stone 1989)

Biological Diversity Of Hawaii

1. Plant Diversity

2. Animal Diversity

3. Landscape Diversity

Uniqueness of Hawaii

• Hawaii's Economy Depends on its Environment

• Potential New Discoveries in Medicine

• Hawaii's Culture is Linked to its Rich Natural Heritage

• Hawaii's Rich Agricultural Heritage

• Hawai`i is a Center for Scientific Study

Factors Threatening Biological Diversity in Hawaii

1. overpopulation

3. Invasion species

4. Pollution

2. Agriculture

5. Deforestation

6. Illiteracy

• Invasive plants and animals

– Goats, deer, wild pigs and the weed miconia (represent the greatest threat to East Maui's forests)

– foreign insects, snakes, plants and pests.

– Feral pigs trample delicate nesting birds.

– Rosy wolfsnails gorge themselves on the island's native snails

– Miconia plants shade out native plants and hurt water quality.

Invasive species of hawaii

• Some 63 % of Hawaii’s species are at risk of extinction, the highest proportion in the U.S.,

• 217 species are already known to have been lost, the gravest total.

Proposed danger

Conservation in Hawaii

• Hawai`i has worked with its federal, state, and private partners to protect more than 200,000 acres of Hawaii's natural areas that shelter native species, many of which are found nowhere else in the world.

Natural conservancy

• The Nature Conservancy uses non-confrontational, market-based economic solutions to protect habitat: a win-win approach to conservation.

• Working only with willing sellers and donors, the Conservancy protects land through:

• Gifts exchanges

• Conservation easements

• Management agreements

• Purchases from the Conservancy's revolving Land Preservation Fund

• Debt-for-nature swaps

• Management partnerships

Nature Conservancy Preserves In Hawaii

I. Island of Hawai`i Kona Hema Preserve

Ka’u Preserve

II. Island of MauiEast Maui Watershed Waikomoi Preserve West Maui Mountains Watershed Kapunakea Preserve

III. Island of Lana`iKanepu’u PreserveLana’i Forest and Watershed Partnership

VI. Island of Kaua`i Kaluahonu Preserve

IV. Island of Moloka`i East Moloka’I Watershed

Pelekunu Preserve  Kamakou Preserve

Mo’omomi Preserve

V. Island of O`ahuHonouliuli Preserve‘ihj’jhilauakea Preserve

Ko’olau Mountains Watershed

Nature Conservancy Preserves In Hawaii contd..

Preserves In Hawaii

Island Of Hawaii Preserves

Hawaii Preserves, Honouliuli, Island of O’ahu

• Pristine native forest

Kona Hema Preserve, Island of Hawaii

• 75% of all native species occupies • 1.5 m acres of land , biggest

Island Of Maui Preserves

East Maui Watershed

West Maui Mountains Watershed

• Biologically diverse and pristine in the islands• Threatened by invasive species like insects and plant diseases

Waikomoi Preserve

• Has 63 rare plant species and • 13 rare bird species (7 endangered)

Kapunakea Preserve

• Has 24 species of rare plants, including four endangered species

• Has only known kauila tree of its kind on Maui

Island of Lana`I Preserves

Kanepu’u Preserve

• Has guided hike paths

• Has several patches of an old, extremely rare Hawaiian dryland forest still remain

• Represents one of the last remaining examples of a dry lowlands forest that once covered the main Hawaiian islands.

Gardenia brighamii

Lana’i Forest and Watershed Partnership

• Ensures the future supply of water for the island of Lana`i,

• Protect the health of near-shore waters, fisheries and beaches

Island of Moloka`i Preserves

Mo’omomi Preserve

• Has rare coastal species than in any other single place in the main Hawaiian Islands.

• 22 native Hawaiian plant species (four globally rare or endangered) 

• Has native beaches which has been lost to coastal development

East Moloka’i Watershed 

• To protect high quality native Hawaiian rain forest communities

Kamakou Preserve

• Has 250 species of Hawaiian plants - 219 of which can be found nowhere else in the world.

• Has countless native insects, supporting a unique array of birds.

Island of O`ahu Preserves

‘Ihj’jhilauakea Preserve

• Located in extinct crater on O'ahu's southeast end

• Contains rare Marsilea villosa fern, also known as 'ihi'ihi,

Honouliuli Preserve

• 70 rare and endangered plant and animal species

• Has dark fertile lands that stretch from the waters of Pearl Harbor to the summit of the Wai`anae Mountains

Endangered Species Of Hawaii

Animal species– Hawaiin Hawk– Hawaiin hoary bat– Hawksbill Turtles

Plant Species– Tetramolopium rockii

Hawaiin Hawk

Future Plans of Nature Conservancy

• Nature Conservancy to Protect Critical Nesting Beach for Endangered Hawksbill Turtles

• The Nature Conservancy of Hawai`i has signed an agreement to purchase 24 acres of oceanfront property at Kamehame Beach on the Island of Hawai`i to help ensure the protection of the endangered Hawaiian hawksbill turtle. 

Conservation Education In Hawaii

• Teaching the importance of conservation in schools and colleges

• Starting voluntary organizations

• Encouraging student participation in conservation programs.

• Educating target groups about conservation.

• Recognition of participation.

Organisations Helping in Conservation in Hawaii

• U.S. Forest Service • Nature Conservancy• East Maui Watershed Partnership • West Maui Mountains Watershed Partnership • East Moloka`i Watershed Partnership • Ko`olau Mountains Watershed Partnership • Coordinating Group on Alien Pest Species • Maui Invasive Species Committee • Big Island Invasive Species Committee • O'ahu Invasive Species Committee• Malama Hawai'I• The Maui County Board of Water Supply

Organisations Helping in Conservation in Hawaii

• Kamehameha Schools• C. Brewer and Company Limited• Amfac/JMB Hawaii, L.L.C.• The Nature Conservancy of Hawai`i• Maui Land & Pineapple Co., Inc.• State Department of Land and Natural Resources• State Department of Land and Natural Resources• County of Maui Board of Water Supply• Haleakala Ranch Co.• East Maui Irrigation Co., Ltd.• Haleakala National Park• Hana Ranch

Organisations Helping in Conservation in Hawaii

• Castle & Cooke Resorts LLC• Hui Malama Pono O Lana`i• Maui County Board of Water Supply• U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service• State of Hawai`i, Department of Land and Natural Resources, Division

of Forestry and Wildlife• The Nature Conservancy of Hawai'i• USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service• Molokai-Lana`i Soil and Water Conservation District• Lana`i Water Advisory Committee• State of Hawai`i Department of Land and Natural Resources,

Commission on Water Resource Management• Maui County

References

• Meffe K.Gary, C.Ronald Carroll and contributors. Principles of Conservation Biology. 1997.

• Stone P.Charles, Danielle B.Stone. Conservation Biology in Hawaii.1989.

• www.Hawaiipictures.com

• www.nature.org

• Williamson, M. 1981. Island populations. Oxford University Press, Oxford, England.

• Muller WEG, Brummer F, Batel R, Muller IM, Schroder HC Molecular biodiversity. Case study: Porifera (sponges)Naturwissenschaften 90 (3): 103-120 MAR 2003