Pacific Islands Region

The Office of National Marine Sanctuaries' Pacific Islands Region and the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument are proud members of the Hawai'i Conservation Alliance, the largest group of natural resource managers in Hawai'i and the Pacific Region. Each year, the Alliance sponsors the Hawai'i Conservation Conference, this year held July 28-30 at the Hawai`i Convention Center in Honolulu. Over 1,100 people attended the three-day conference.

The Convention theme was 'Hawai'i in a Changing Climate: Biological, Cultural, Economic and Policy Challenges and Solutions'. Participants shared experiences and ideas in three conference sessions: Climate Change Impacts on Ecosystem Services in Hawai'i, Carbon Sequestration and Carbon Trading: Emerging Enterprises in Hawai'i, and Climate Change and Hawai'i's Evolving Energy Policy. In addition, there was a wide range of symposia, forums and workshops, and poster sessions.

Last year's conference focused on the International Year of the Reef, Foundation board member, was the keynote speaker. This year's keynote speaker was Dr. Stephen Schneider, Melvin and Joan Lane Professor for Interdisciplinary Environmental Studies at Stanford University and a Senior Fellow at the Woods Institute for the Environment.

For a summary of the conference highlights, including webcasts of most of the presentations, go to the Hawai`i Conservation Conference website