Prioritizing restoration of coastal wetlands on Molokaʻi

Located in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, the Hawaiian island of Molokaʻi faces serious impacts from sea-level rise and has already experienced severe runoff and sedimentation from upland forest degradation. Coastal wetlands on the island have been degraded due to sedimentation, human alteration, and invasive species. 

Coastal wetlands are fundamentally important to Native Hawaiians—their function is inextricably intertwined with sociocultural values, a prime example of the Hawaiian socioecological system in which humans are perceived as part of and not separate from nature. Given the need for coastal wetland restoration in Hawaiʻi and the rare opportunity to carry out restoration at a landscape scale on Molokaʻi, the  Molokaʻi Wetland Partnership  studied 11 coastal wetlands on the island. The main objectives were to develop a protocol to prioritize coastal wetlands for restoration and to use the new protocol to rank each of the sites. The Partnership then used this prioritization to create a blueprint for wetland restoration across the island.

This geonarrative details the development of a prioritization protocol for coastal wetland restoration on Molokaʻi, Hawaiʻi.  Interactive maps and data dashboards showcase the wetlands, the criteria used to assess the sites, and the results of the prioritization.