#13 16/02/14

  The Hawaii Rare Plant Restoration

    Nearly 200 of 1500 native plant species in Hawaii are at risk of going extinct in the near future because they have been reduced to such  low number. Approximately 90 percent of Hawaii's plants are found nowhere else in the world but they are threatened by alien invasive species such as feral goats, pigs. rodents and non-native plants.

     The Hawaii Rare Plant Restoration Group is striving to prevent the extinction of the 182 rare Hawaiian plants with fewer than 50 individuals remaining in the wild. Since 1990, as a result of their "Plant Extinction Prevention Program", sixteen species have been brought into cultivation and three species have been reintroduced. Invasive weeds have been removed in key areas and fencing put up in order to protect plants in the wild.

     In the future the Hawaii Rare Plant Restoration Program aims at collecting genetic material from the remaining plants in the wild for storage as a safety net for the future. They also aim to manage wild population and where possible reintroduce species into reserves.