Caring for People and Protecting Forests in Hawai’i and the U.S.-Affiliated Pacific Islands
In Hawai’i and the U.S.-Affiliated Pacific Islands, forests sustain life. They provide communities with food, wood, medicine, and are part of their cultural heritage.
In December 2023, nearly 100 participants gathered in Hilo, Hawai’i for a week-long forestry workshop to discuss challenges of protecting these forests.
The conference brought together foresters, researchers, college students, and others from locations across the Pacific — the Federated States of Micronesia (Pohnpei, Kosrae, Chuuk, and Yap), the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Republic of Palau, the Territory of American Samoa, the State of Hawai’i, the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands, the Territory of Guam, and the Forest Service’s Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry and the Pacific Southwest Region. The universities of Hawai’i and Guam, USGS, Micronesian Conservation Trust, Smart Trees Pacific, Ebiil Society, and Hawai’i Wildfire Management Organization also attended.