It is up to us to preserve Hawaii’s biodiversity

When the US Fish and Wildlife Service announced that it would remove 23 species from the list of endangered species due to their suspected extinction, it underscored the importance of maintaining biodiversity and supporting nature conservation.

Of the species to be removed from the list, a third (eight birds and one plant) are known only in Hawaii. The disproportionate number of extinct Hawaiian species relative to the geographic size of the islands illustrates why Hawaii was given the unfortunate nickname “the Capital of the World of Extinction”.

These 23 species are just the tip of the iceberg. Today, a third of Hawaii’s more than 1,300 native plants are classified as threatened or endangered, with many species not yet rated. With nearly 90% of Hawaii’s plants being endemic (only found here), biodiversity and conservation are tangible concepts that underscore the notion that extinction is forever.

As a Hawaii-based environmental nonprofit dedicated to protecting plants, we at the National Tropical Botanical Garden couldn’t help but notice that only one of the species to be removed from the list was a plant. It is well documented that when it comes to wildlife and conservation, plants are often overlooked by the public in favor of charismatic animals.

According to Botanical Garden Conservation International, there are more endangered tree species on earth than mammals, birds, amphibians and reptiles combined.

This week’s announcement raises many important points. Accelerated extinction and the loss of biodiversity are not only tragic for individual species, but can also threaten entire ecosystems, with far-reaching effects beyond.

Birds like Kauai Amakihi, Iiwi, Anianiau, and Elepaio are just a few of the species that are part of a wider range of living things that make Hawaii’s biodiversity a unique and important part of our world.

The effects of the destruction of entire ecosystems are illustrated by the disruption of the relationships between birds and plants. Birds rely on plants to feed, breed, and nest. Plants rely on birds to distribute their seeds, pollinate their flowers, and more.

Lost from extinction

Hawaii’s high level of endemism reflects the unique and specialized relationships that plants and animals have formed while evolving in isolation from continental influences. A plant that NTBG works closely with, the rock-dwelling alula (Brighamia insignis), only known in Kauai and Niihau, illustrates this concept. Although Alula has been widely cultivated and we continue to do research on the species, Alula and its suspected pollinator, a sphinx moth, are now considered extinct in the wild.

More than 50 native Hawaiian plant species have not been observed in over a century and more than 130 are believed to be potentially extinct in the wild. 27 native Hawaiian plant species are believed to have become extinct since 2000, 12 of them in the last six years alone.

At the same time, we know from our own field work that rare and endangered plants that were believed to be lost were rediscovered decades later.

More than 50 native Hawaiian plant species have not been observed in over a century.

Hawaii conservationists and scientists are increasingly using drones and other new technologies to find and monitor endangered plant populations that were previously unknown or believed to be extinct. We learned this firsthand in 2019 when our scientists used a drone to rediscover a hibiscus relative that was considered extinct in the wild.

In the two years since then, there have been repeated discoveries and rediscoveries, and exciting new technologies promise future success.

One of the most important ways to contain the tides of extinction and preserve as much biodiversity as possible is to work together. NTBG works closely with federal and state authorities as well as large and small institutions and organizations with nature conservation and science.

The challenges ahead are simply too big, too complex and too numerous to be tackled alone.

Funding is also important to prevent further extinction. Much of the work to protect endangered species ultimately depends on financial support.

The question is: what are our priorities and what are we going to finance, also at the expense of something else.

We believe that our top priorities, not just in Hawaii but around the world, should be the conservation of biodiversity and our natural environment.

Plants, animals and other living things play a direct and indirect role in our own well-being, of everything as simple as the air we breathe, the water we drink, the food and medicine that sustains and heals us, to our way of life, and the future that we will pass on to our children, grandchildren and future generations.

The decision to prioritize the conservation of biodiversity and the preservation of nature is possibly the most important decision that lies ahead and is ours alone.