Paper short abstract:

Starting with the Hawaiian creation story of Papahānaumoku, this talk will focus on several biocultural conservation case studies which could serve as a pathway towards creating the transformative change needed to protect the biocultural diversity of our planet earth.

Paper long abstract:

Due to its extreme isolation in the middle of the Pacific, Hawaii is often recognized for its high level of endemism and amazing examples adaptive radiation where a single founder might give rise to over 100 unique species. It is also recognized as a biodiversity hotspot and often called the endangered species capital of the world. Chartered in 1964 by the United States Congress as nonprofit NGO, the National Tropical Botanical Garden (NTBG) has worked for over 50 years to stop the extinction of native plant species in Hawaii and the Pacific. Founded as a science-based organization, NTBG has evolved over the past 30 years to embrace indigenous cultural knowledge and values and build partnerships with the native Hawaiian community that have allowed NTBG to create powerful and effective biocultural conservation programs and projects.

In 2005, NTBG changed its mission statement to include “… perpetuating the survival of plants, ecosystems, and cultural knowledge of tropical regions” which created the mandate for NTBG to elevate the perpetuation of cultural knowledge to the same level as our efforts to prevent the extinction of plants!

Starting with the Hawaiian creation story of Papahānaumoku, this talk will focus on several biocultural conservation case studies which could serve as a pathway towards creating the transformative change needed to protect the biocultural diversity of our planet earth.