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The Hawaiian Ecoregion: A Crucible of Evolution

The Hawai'i Ecoregion is a Pacific archipelago comprising eight main islands and dozens of tiny atolls, shoals, and islets. Known worldwide as an island paradise, the region attracts throngs of tourists who are drawn by its warm ocean waters, and sandy beaches. But this familiar image is only one aspect of a biologically rich -- and increasingly endangered -- landscape.

The Hawai`i Ecoregion supports a staggering variety of natural communities. Tropical rain forests carpeted with mosses and ferns echo with the trills and calls of elusive Hawaiian forest birds. Miles of rich coral reefs teem with tropical fish, dolphins, and turtles. Island shorelines vary dramatically, ranging from white sand beaches to tumbled lava cliffs and caves. Active, erupting volcanoes intermittently spew hot red lava into the sea. The silversword blooms in Maui's alpine desert, while skiers ply the lofty slopes of the Big Island.

Yet Hawai`i is threatened by a tremendous loss of biological diversity, increasing air and water pollution, and overdevelopment. That's why the Sierra Club is fighting to restore and protect this vital region for the next century and beyond -- through the Critical Ecoregions Program.

Nowhere Else on Earth

Seventy million years of geologic upheaval and biological evolution created the Hawai`i Ecoregion. As lava welled up from miles below the surface of the ocean to create islands, colonizing plants and animals found their way to these tiny outposts of land, more than 2,000 miles from the nearest continent. Insects and spores traveled the jet stream; birds blown off course from their normal migratory routes took refuge here, bearing seeds that gave plant life to the islands. Only a tiny fraction of such accidental colonists survived to become permanent inhabitants of this strange new world.

As the survivors evolved adaptations to their new surroundings, entirely new species emerged. Because only two mammals -- the Hawaiian hoary bat and the Hawaiian monk seal -- found their way to the islands, birds were able to flourish without the threat of major predators. From one ancestor honeycreeper, 47 separate bird species evolved, some with elaborately curved bills uniquely adapted to Hawaii's flowering plants. From rain forests to grasslands and alpine deserts, more than one hundred distinct natural communities evolved in Hawai`i. It is estimated that over 10,000 unique forms of life once thrived on these small but ecologically astonishing islands.

Threats to the Region

The Hawai`i Ecoregion faces grave threats, including the destruction of native species and ecosystems; pollution of air and water; overuse of natural resources; overdependence on imported energy; and massive development by the tourism industry. The region is truly at a crossroads as we near the 21st century: If these trends are not stopped, the natural values that make these islands so extraordinary will be lost forever. These threats can be turned back only with a comprehensive, ecosystem-based strategy. That strategy -- the Sierra Club Critical Ecoregions Program -- begins with a comprehensive, ecosystem-based understanding of Hawai`i itself.

Loss of Biological Diversity

After millennia of specialized evolution, it took only a few hundred years to wreak devastating harm to the native plant and animal communities of Hawai`i. The process of alien species invasion began over 1,500 years ago, when Polynesian settlers found their way to the islands, bringing with them coconut, taro, breadfruit, and pigs. Later waves of settlers brought plants and animals familiar to their own cultures. Thousands of acres were cleared for cultivation of sugar cane and pineapple, prompting successive migrations of workers, then visitors, to the islands. The release of voracious herbivores -- such as longhorn cattle and European boars -- and the accidental introduction of weeds, insects, and diseases have devastated many native ecosystems. In all, more than 5,000 alien plant species and 3260 foreign insect species have invaded the islands since Captain Cook first visited Hawai`i two centuries ago.

Today, the impacts of this invasion are clear. Nearly three-quarters of all documented extinct plant and bird species in the United States were native to Hawai`i. More than half of Hawaii's original 140 bird species have vanished forever; more than half of the remaining native bird species are endangered or so close to extinction they may never be saved.

Pollution, Degradation, and Disruption of Marine and Nearshore Ecosystems

The coral reefs encircling the Hawaiian Islands drop dramatically to deep underwater canyons many miles offshore. These nearshore and marine ecosystems are remarkably diverse and ecologically important - and they are seriously threatened by human activities.

The region's waters support the endangered Hawaiian monk seal, brought to the brink of extinction by habitat degradation, as well as five species of threatened or endangered sea turtles. All marine species, including enormous nesting colonies of pelagic birds in the northwestern Hawaiian islands, are at grave risk from potentially catastrophic oil spills. Water pollution - from such sources as sewage seepage and pesticide runoff - threatens coral reefs and the myriad species that depend on them. Soil erosion caused by agriculture and clearing of land for development has smothered delicate reefs with fine silt. Estuaries such as the Pearl Harbor basin have been polluted by boats' toxic hull paint, and by radioactive wastes. New schemes to exploit the ocean - deep-sea mining, giant luxury marinas, undersea electrical cables, and other untested technologies - continually arise.

Unsustainable Uses of Resources and the Landscape

In an island ecosystem, resource overuse and abuse have immediate and compelling effects. Many of Hawaii's streams and rivers have been diverted at the source for years to provide water for thirsty crops. The remainder are threatened by agricultural pesticides and invasion of alien species that jeopardize the streams' ecological integrity. The supply of pure water, held in natural aquifers, is diminishing in quantity and quality. Meanwhile, inadequate treatment of sewage and storm drainage threatens the very beaches that support the tourism industry.

Hawai`i has the solar and wind potential to lead the world in safe and renewable energy technology. Yet 90 percent of the islands' energy is derived from imported oil. In fact, Hawai`i residents lead the nation in per capita oil consumption.

Once self-sufficient for food, Hawai`i is now almost completely dependent on imported food. Hawaii's farms do produce crops for export, but poor agronomic practices take their toll on the health of the volcanic soil.

Impacts of Tourism

Development of resorts and golf courses consumes open space in Hawaii's fragile coastal zone at a frenetic pace. Such developments often destroy native Hawaiian cultural sites and block shoreline access for Hawai`i residents. Central air conditioning makes resorts extremely energy-intensive. Resorts also use tremendous amounts of fresh water, pollute groundwater and the nearshore sea with runoff from golf courses, and produce vast quantities of sewage and solid waste.

Ecologically sensitive tourism development could help visitors become aware of the fragility of island resources. Yet to date, most of the tourism promoted in Hawai`i reflects little or no understanding of human effects on the environment: Whalewatchers may upset the whales' birthing process by approaching the animals too closely; noisy helicopter tours relentlessly buzz the wild areas of the islands, disturbing wildlife as well as recreationists; and tour buses' idling diesel motors drown out the songs of native birds at scenic spots.

Meeting the Challenge: The Critical Ecoregions Program

The Hawai`i Ecoregion is truly a paradise on Earth, but visionary leadership is essential to preserve its ecological integrity into the coming century.

The Critical Ecoregions Program represents a fundamental change in the way we manage our region's -- and our nation's -- finite natural resources. While agencies divide the world into small, manageable parts, ecoregions demand attention as organic, living systems. Our challenge is to build ecosystem thinking into every policy step.

This is the essence of the Sierra Club strategy. In order to turn back the specific threats to the Hawai`i Ecoregion -- and to help meet the five global challenges identified by the Sierra Club -- regional grassroots activists have developed a comprehensive action plan for the next several years.

This plan includes concrete steps to protect and restore remaining native habitat; prevent continued introduction and spread of alien species; control established alien species in critical native habitats; clean up coastal pollution; protect sensitive habitats from noise and other impacts of tour helicopter overflights; and preserve remaining rare and threatened native birds and animals of Hawai`i. Each of these steps will bring us closer to a healthier, sustainable ecosystem. While they form the core of the Sierra Club strategy, they are a small fraction of the policy changes needed over the next decade.

As we move toward the 21st century, Sierra Club citizen activists in the Hawai`i Ecoregion will be working to restore air and water quality, to protect and restore the land and preserve biological diversity, and to conserve our region's resources. Like Sierra Club activists everywhere, they'll use a wide variety of tools: education, litigation, lobbying, electoral politics, and more.

This comprehensive, ecosystem-based approach is the first, necessary step toward saving the global environment, beginning right here at home. To restore the Hawai`i Ecoregion is to invest in the Earth's future.

The Sierra Club Critical Ecoregions Program, with your help, can meet this enormous challenge.

Please contact the Hawai`i Chapter at (808) 538-6616 to offer your support - whether donations or volunteer effort - both are needed.

Hawai`i Ecoregion Key Objectives

In order to turn back the specific threats to the Hawai`i Ecoregion -- and to help meet the five global challenges identified by the Sierra Club -- regional grassroots activists will focus on these key objectives:

Protect and restore remaining native habitat by expanding the state's Natural Area Reserve System, designating additional areas for protection, and enacting legislation to fund fencing, firebreaks, and alien species control within protected areas.

Prevent continued introduction and spread of alien species in Hawai`i by improving and integrating laws, regulations, and enforcement practices that control alien species. A critical initial action will be to require quarantine of certain military transport vehicles to prevent invasion of the brown tree snake from infested Pacific outposts.
Control alien species in critical native habitats by recruiting and training volunteers for service trips to remove non-native plants, restore damaged areas, and build fences to deter feral pigs. Expand the extent and effectiveness of control projects in progress on the islands of Kaua`` O`ahu, Maui, Moloka`i and Hawai`i.
Clean up coastal pollution from sewage, industrial, and agricultural waste by continuing our aggressive campaign to require compliance with the Clean Water Act, organizing a public education campaign, and enforcing water quality standards using administrative appeals and litigation.
Protect sensitive habitats from noise and other impacts of tour helicopter overflights by enacting legislation to restrict flights over Hawai`i National parks, and by strengthening Federal Aviation Administration rules for other sensitive areas of the state.
Preserve remaining rare and threatened native birds and animals of Hawai`i by pressing for legal protection and designation of critical habitat, through litigation, organizing public statements on behalf of endangered species, and developing an educational media campaign to gain broad public support and recognition for our cherished natural heritage.


	The Hawaiian Ecoregion: A Crucible of Evolution The Hawai'i Ecoregion is a Pacific archipelago comprising eight main islands and dozens of tiny atolls, shoals, and islets. Known worldwide as an island paradise, the region attracts throngs of tourists who are drawn by its warm ocean waters, and sandy beaches. But this familiar image is only one aspect of a biologically rich -- and increasingly endangered -- landscape. The Hawai`i Ecoregion supports a staggering variety of natural communities. Tropical rain forests carpeted with mosses and ferns echo with the trills and calls of elusive Hawaiian forest birds. Miles of rich coral reefs teem with tropical fish, dolphins, and turtles. Island shorelines vary dramatically, ranging from white sand beaches to tumbled lava cliffs and caves. Active, erupting volcanoes intermittently spew hot red lava into the sea. The silversword blooms in Maui's alpine desert, while skiers ply the lofty slopes of the Big Island. Yet Hawai`i is threatened by a tremendous loss of biological diversity, increasing air and water pollution, and overdevelopment. That's why the Sierra Club is fighting to restore and protect this vital region for the next century and beyond -- through the Critical Ecoregions Program. Nowhere Else on Earth Seventy million years of geologic upheaval and biological evolution created the Hawai`i Ecoregion. As lava welled up from miles below the surface of the ocean to create islands, colonizing plants and animals found their way to these tiny outposts of land, more than 2,000 miles from the nearest continent. Insects and spores traveled the jet stream; birds blown off course from their normal migratory routes took refuge here, bearing seeds that gave plant life to the islands. Only a tiny fraction of such accidental colonists survived to become permanent inhabitants of this strange new world. As the survivors evolved adaptations to their new surroundings, entirely new species emerged. Because only two mammals -- the Hawaiian hoary bat and the Hawaiian monk seal -- found their way to the islands, birds were able to flourish without the threat of major predators. From one ancestor honeycreeper, 47 separate bird species evolved, some with elaborately curved bills uniquely adapted to Hawaii's flowering plants. From rain forests to grasslands and alpine deserts, more than one hundred distinct natural communities evolved in Hawai`i. It is estimated that over 10,000 unique forms of life once thrived on these small but ecologically astonishing islands. Threats to the Region The Hawai`i Ecoregion faces grave threats, including the destruction of native species and ecosystems; pollution of air and water; overuse of natural resources; overdependence on imported energy; and massive development by the tourism industry. The region is truly at a crossroads as we near the 21st century: If these trends are not stopped, the natural values that make these islands so extraordinary will be lost forever. These threats can be turned back only with a comprehensive, ecosystem-based strategy. That strategy -- the Sierra Club Critical Ecoregions Program -- begins with a comprehensive, ecosystem-based understanding of Hawai`i itself. Loss of Biological Diversity After millennia of specialized evolution, it took only a few hundred years to wreak devastating harm to the native plant and animal communities of Hawai`i. The process of alien species invasion began over 1,500 years ago, when Polynesian settlers found their way to the islands, bringing with them coconut, taro, breadfruit, and pigs. Later waves of settlers brought plants and animals familiar to their own cultures. Thousands of acres were cleared for cultivation of sugar cane and pineapple, prompting successive migrations of workers, then visitors, to the islands. The release of voracious herbivores -- such as longhorn cattle and European boars -- and the accidental introduction of weeds, insects, and diseases have devastated many native ecosystems. In all, more than 5,000 alien plant species and 3260 foreign insect species have invaded the islands since Captain Cook first visited Hawai`i two centuries ago. Today, the impacts of this invasion are clear. Nearly three-quarters of all documented extinct plant and bird species in the United States were native to Hawai`i. More than half of Hawaii's original 140 bird species have vanished forever; more than half of the remaining native bird species are endangered or so close to extinction they may never be saved. Pollution, Degradation, and Disruption of Marine and Nearshore Ecosystems The coral reefs encircling the Hawaiian Islands drop dramatically to deep underwater canyons many miles offshore. These nearshore and marine ecosystems are remarkably diverse and ecologically important - and they are seriously threatened by human activities. The region's waters support the endangered Hawaiian monk seal, brought to the brink of extinction by habitat degradation, as well as five species of threatened or endangered sea turtles. All marine species, including enormous nesting colonies of pelagic birds in the northwestern Hawaiian islands, are at grave risk from potentially catastrophic oil spills. Water pollution - from such sources as sewage seepage and pesticide runoff - threatens coral reefs and the myriad species that depend on them. Soil erosion caused by agriculture and clearing of land for development has smothered delicate reefs with fine silt. Estuaries such as the Pearl Harbor basin have been polluted by boats' toxic hull paint, and by radioactive wastes. New schemes to exploit the ocean - deep-sea mining, giant luxury marinas, undersea electrical cables, and other untested technologies - continually arise. Unsustainable Uses of Resources and the Landscape In an island ecosystem, resource overuse and abuse have immediate and compelling effects. Many of Hawaii's streams and rivers have been diverted at the source for years to provide water for thirsty crops. The remainder are threatened by agricultural pesticides and invasion of alien species that jeopardize the streams' ecological integrity. The supply of pure water, held in natural aquifers, is diminishing in quantity and quality. Meanwhile, inadequate treatment of sewage and storm drainage threatens the very beaches that support the tourism industry. Hawai`i has the solar and wind potential to lead the world in safe and renewable energy technology. Yet 90 percent of the islands' energy is derived from imported oil. In fact, Hawai`i residents lead the nation in per capita oil consumption. Once self-sufficient for food, Hawai`i is now almost completely dependent on imported food. Hawaii's farms do produce crops for export, but poor agronomic practices take their toll on the health of the volcanic soil. Impacts of Tourism Development of resorts and golf courses consumes open space in Hawaii's fragile coastal zone at a frenetic pace. Such developments often destroy native Hawaiian cultural sites and block shoreline access for Hawai`i residents. Central air conditioning makes resorts extremely energy-intensive. Resorts also use tremendous amounts of fresh water, pollute groundwater and the nearshore sea with runoff from golf courses, and produce vast quantities of sewage and solid waste. Ecologically sensitive tourism development could help visitors become aware of the fragility of island resources. Yet to date, most of the tourism promoted in Hawai`i reflects little or no understanding of human effects on the environment: Whalewatchers may upset the whales' birthing process by approaching the animals too closely; noisy helicopter tours relentlessly buzz the wild areas of the islands, disturbing wildlife as well as recreationists; and tour buses' idling diesel motors drown out the songs of native birds at scenic spots. Meeting the Challenge: The Critical Ecoregions Program The Hawai`i Ecoregion is truly a paradise on Earth, but visionary leadership is essential to preserve its ecological integrity into the coming century. The Critical Ecoregions Program represents a fundamental change in the way we manage our region's -- and our nation's -- finite natural resources. While agencies divide the world into small, manageable parts, ecoregions demand attention as organic, living systems. Our challenge is to build ecosystem thinking into every policy step. This is the essence of the Sierra Club strategy. In order to turn back the specific threats to the Hawai`i Ecoregion -- and to help meet the five global challenges identified by the Sierra Club -- regional grassroots activists have developed a comprehensive action plan for the next several years. This plan includes concrete steps to protect and restore remaining native habitat; prevent continued introduction and spread of alien species; control established alien species in critical native habitats; clean up coastal pollution; protect sensitive habitats from noise and other impacts of tour helicopter overflights; and preserve remaining rare and threatened native birds and animals of Hawai`i. Each of these steps will bring us closer to a healthier, sustainable ecosystem. While they form the core of the Sierra Club strategy, they are a small fraction of the policy changes needed over the next decade. As we move toward the 21st century, Sierra Club citizen activists in the Hawai`i Ecoregion will be working to restore air and water quality, to protect and restore the land and preserve biological diversity, and to conserve our region's resources. Like Sierra Club activists everywhere, they'll use a wide variety of tools: education, litigation, lobbying, electoral politics, and more. This comprehensive, ecosystem-based approach is the first, necessary step toward saving the global environment, beginning right here at home. To restore the Hawai`i Ecoregion is to invest in the Earth's future. The Sierra Club Critical Ecoregions Program, with your help, can meet this enormous challenge. Please contact the Hawai`i Chapter at (808) 538-6616 to offer your support - whether donations or volunteer effort - both are needed. Hawai`i Ecoregion Key Objectives In order to turn back the specific threats to the Hawai`i Ecoregion -- and to help meet the five global challenges identified by the Sierra Club -- regional grassroots activists will focus on these key objectives: Protect and restore remaining native habitat by expanding the state's Natural Area Reserve System, designating additional areas for protection, and enacting legislation to fund fencing, firebreaks, and alien species control within protected areas. Prevent continued introduction and spread of alien species in Hawai`i by improving and integrating laws, regulations, and enforcement practices that control alien species. A critical initial action will be to require quarantine of certain military transport vehicles to prevent invasion of the brown tree snake from infested Pacific outposts. Control alien species in critical native habitats by recruiting and training volunteers for service trips to remove non-native plants, restore damaged areas, and build fences to deter feral pigs. Expand the extent and effectiveness of control projects in progress on the islands of Kaua`` O`ahu, Maui, Moloka`i and Hawai`i. Clean up coastal pollution from sewage, industrial, and agricultural waste by continuing our aggressive campaign to require compliance with the Clean Water Act, organizing a public education campaign, and enforcing water quality standards using administrative appeals and litigation. Protect sensitive habitats from noise and other impacts of tour helicopter overflights by enacting legislation to restrict flights over Hawai`i National parks, and by strengthening Federal Aviation Administration rules for other sensitive areas of the state. Preserve remaining rare and threatened native birds and animals of Hawai`i by pressing for legal protection and designation of critical habitat, through litigation, organizing public statements on behalf of endangered species, and developing an educational media campaign to gain broad public support and recognition for our cherished natural heritage.














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