"One option for landowners is to develop Hawaii into vacation real estate and forget about conservation," Daily said. "Another option is to try and offer landowners an income from not just koa wood but many other benefits that would come from restoring koa forests."
For example, koa can help recharge freshwater aquifers, many of which are being overdrawn in Hawaii, Daily said. Whereas mist and clouds pass over grassy ranchland without contributing much to groundwater, koa trees provide a lush, broad-leafed canopy that can draw moisture out of the air more efficiently.
Koa forests also can help suppress the spread of fires and control flooding locally, she said. They also can store carbon-helping to stabilize the climate globally. These benefits are what Daily and others refer to as "ecosystem services," which have tremendous economic value.
Win-win scenario
Koa forests also would be ideally suited to host ecotourism, a niche market that attracts more adventurous types, Daily said. For these tourists, catching a glimpse of the rare and endangered species that depend on koa forests can be more than worth the price of admission.
"Many Hawaiian plants and animals have already gone extinct," Daily said. "Those that remain are dependent on native forest, of which koa is a key species. If we can bring back koa, we can help secure the future of those native species that still survive."
One such species is the 'Akiapola'au, a highly endangered species of honeycreeper bird found only on the Big Island of Hawaii. Liba Pejchar, a postdoctoral researcher working with Daily, made a surprising discovery while completing her doctoral research.
"She found that young koa pl
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Contact: Mark Shwartz
mshwartz@stanford.edu
650-723-9296
Stanford University
8-Dec-2004