Hawai'i As A Natural Laboratory

The Island of Hawaii is a place with unique resources and distinct challenges. It is a remote island the approximate size of Connecticut, comprised of active and dormant volcanoes—one of which is counted as the largest mountain in the world when measured from the sea floor to its summit at 13,796 feet above sea level. This mountain's peak is home to thirteen of the world’s most sophisticated telescopes, the premier spot in the northern hemisphere for astronomers. 

Hawai'i Island is one of the most geologically and climatologically diverse places on Earth, resembling a miniature continent with 11 of the major 13 ecosystems of the planet—including desert and rainforest, coastal and alpine environments. It has a remarkable combination of dramatic earth phenomena, including active volcanoes, earthquakes, and tsunamis. The marine ecosystems around the Island are rich and varied, extending from shallow coral reefs to a depth of 16,500 feet. Though Hawai'i is considered by biologists to be one of the world’s finest laboratories of evolution, it is also the endangered species capital of the United States, with habitats of 363 of 1,104 threatened or endangered species identified by the US government. All these dramatic interactions of geological, biological, oceanic, and atmospheric processes make the Island of Hawaii especially attractive for academic study of global ecological phenomena. 

Hawai'i has a rich cultural history intertwined with its environmental systems and a well-documented record of human colonization with its associated impacts on biological species diversity and cultural development. Because of Hawai'i's location at the geographic crossroad between the US and the Asia-Pacific region, it is known for the diversity of its population: a peaceful mix of Native Hawaiian, European, Japanese, Filipino, and Chinese ethnic heritages, with the highest rate of intermarriage in the United States. The population has extraordinary experience respecting and blending cultural traditions and can serve as a model for our emerging global society. Building on the rich ethnobotanical and ethnopharmacological knowledge of its Polynesian settlers, Island residents have a special interest in integrating Western, Eastern, and indigenous healing traditions to become a center for research and development in the field of global medicine.

However, Hawai'i has finite resources and the Island is struggling to address a need for economic development that does not further destroy the quality of the physical and cultural environment. Though Hawai'i could tap abundant sources of solar, wind, hydro, and thermal power, the Island and the State have become completely dependent on imported oil to supply electrical energy to a growing resident and visitor population. Issues of sustainable development, energy independence, income disparity, food security, and environmental justice are at the forefront of local planning activities. 

Residents of Hawai'i Island understand that research and education are key to understanding how to develop the Island's economy in ways that are ecologically sound and culturally respectful. By operating a premier center for applied scientific education and research, The Kohala Center is dedicated to helping Hawai'i Island residents preserve and enhance the intellectual, cultural, and natural assets of the Island and thoughtfully address the challenges noted above.