2012 Annual Report - The Nature Conservancy

Dr. Samuel M. ‘Ohukani’ohi’a Gon III
O‘ahu, Hawai‘i
“Hawaiians call the high mountains wao akua, the
realm of the gods. What ties the forests of the
wao akua to our lives is water.
The forests are amazingly rich, interconnected
and complex. They pull water from passing clouds
and condense it, and trickle it slowly into our
aquifers so that we are supplied with good, clean,
reliable drinking water. Everything on the islands
owes its life to those very sacred processes that
occur high up in the mountains.
My kuleana, my responsibility, is to care for the
health of our native ecosystems in this island
chain. We all have a responsibility to care for the
places that sustain us.”
Dr. Samuel M. ‘Ohukani’ohi’a Gon III is a senior scientist
and cultural advisor to The Nature Conservancy’s Hawai‘i
Program. Over the years, he has fostered deep and
longstanding relationships with Indigenous peoples of Hawai‘i
and Polynesia. He is also traditionally trained in Hawaiian
chant. The Conservancy is working ridge to reef with partners
in the He‘eia watershed on O‘ahu to improve forest health,
restore wetlands, remove invasive algae and prevent sediment
and pollutants from flowing into coral reefs.
Clockwise from top left: Paul Rappun tends to his taro patch, which relies
on clean water that comes down from the mountains; Dr. Gon refills a
traditional water canteen; View of the He‘eia watershed from ridge to reef.
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