Community-led restoration funding for wao kanaka

Living Lowlands: Community-Led Restoration in Wao Kanaka

Funds directed to community-based restoration work across wao kanaka and the lands below the upper watersheds of Hawaiʻi, where more than 90% of mesic and dryland forests have been destroyed and, by some estimates, even more of the dryland forests. ‘āina-based organizations are already restoring healthy ecosystems and bringing community and forests back together. Converting pasture and lands degraded by drought, floods, invasive species, and wildfire back into native forest and shrubland at scale requires a skilled, dedicated workforce, large volumes of native seed to support biodiversity, and equipment that groups can share. Funds would go directly to community-based restoration work and support collaboration that allows organizations to pool seed, equipment, volunteers, and knowledge, with the result of healthier ecosystems in places where past land use has caused severe degradation, where wildfire is dangerous, and where people live.