Working
groups
Two long-standing collaborations do much of the hands-on work of plant conservation in Hawaiʻi — one focused on preventing extinction in the field, the other on securing seed for the future. Both predate Laukahi and are coordinated through it.
Hawaiʻi Rare Plant Restoration Group
To prevent the extinction of native Hawaiian plants and provide for their recovery through integrated in situ and ex situ efforts.
The HRPRG is an informal alliance of public and private agencies and organizations working to prevent the extinction of native Hawaiian plants, and to provide for their recovery through integrated in situ (on-site) and ex situ (off-site) efforts across its diverse and committed membership.
Partners work collaboratively to sample, propagate, and reintroduce rare plants, and to advance the preservation of native plants and their habitats through effective communication and public education. The HRPRG also serves as the Hawaiian Plant Specialist Group for the IUCN.
- 01Developing shared standards and guidelines used by members statewide
- 02Sampling, propagation, and reintroduction of rare plants
- 03Monitoring and field data standards for Hawaiian rare plant populations
- 04Communication and public education on native plant conservation
- 05Serving as the IUCN Hawaiian Plant Specialist Group
Hawaiʻi Seed Bank Partnership
To preserve the genetic diversity of native plant species through seed banking grounded in scientific research, for conservation and restoration.
The HSBP is a group of cooperating partners dedicated to the use of seed banking, based on scientific research, in order to preserve the genetic diversity of native plant species for conservation and restoration. It began in 2012 with four members representing four active seed banks, out of a targeted effort to increase collaboration across everyone doing plant conservation in Hawaiʻi. Facing shared limits on resources, partners recognized they could accomplish far more working together. Today the HSBP includes over 60 representatives from 25 organizations.
Hawaiʻi’s flora has a high percentage of seeds that are not orthodox and cannot be stored the way major seed banks store theirs — dry and frozen, remaining viable for decades. With support from internationally recognized experts, HSBP members are positioned to lead cutting-edge research on the long-term storage of tropical native seed. All partners are committed to ensuring conservation goals are prioritized and that no harm comes to native plants or ecosystems from collection and storage efforts.
- 01Long-term seed storage across cooperating facilities statewide
- 02Research into storage behavior of non-orthodox tropical seed
- 03Collections held at one facility and backed up at another
- 04Shared protocols for collection, drying, and accessioning
- 05Coordination so that collection never harms wild populations
Lyon Arboretum · Oʻahu Army Natural Resources Program · National Tropical Botanical Garden · Hawaiʻi Island Seed Bank — with research support from the USDA National Center for Genetic Resources Preservation.
US Fish & Wildlife Service · DLNR — Division of Forestry & Wildlife · Plant Extinction Prevention Program · Puʻu Kukui Watershed Preserve · Waiʻanae Mountains Watershed Partnership · Haleakalā National Park · Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park · UH Mānoa Department of Botany · UH Center for Conservation Research & Training · Maui Nui Botanical Gardens
Both groups are open to new partners.
Contact the Laukahi Network Coordinator to get involved.