Hawaii Coral Reef Strategy (HCRS) Conservation Action Plan (CAP): South Kohala Priority Site

The State of Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) Division of Aquatic Resources (DAR) is the primary agency responsible for coordinating Hawaii's reef management efforts in the main Hawaiian Islands. The Coral Reef Working Group (CRWG), made up of key state and federal partners involved in coral reef management, was established to help provide guidance for the State of Hawaii's coral program.

The 2010 Hawaii Coral Reef Strategy (HCRS) is the guiding coral reef management document used by the DAR with support from the NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program. The HCRS was developed through a participatory process including DAR staff as well as other agency representatives, academics and NGO partners and regional experts. Prior to the completion of the HCRS, management efforts were informed by threat-focused Local Action Strategies (LAS's). While the HRCS prioritizes place-based stewardship efforts, it includes and incorporates actions and needs identified by the LAS's.

This layer outlines the HCRS project boundary for a portion of the west coast of Hawaii Island (Big Island) in South Kohala. The goal for the South Kohala Conservation Action Plan (CAP) is to develop strategies to address priority threats to South Kohala's coral reef ecosystems. This process will engage statebolders to identify: 1) priority conservation targets, 2) threats acting on the targets, 3) strategies to conserve the targets, and 4) measurable indicators to evaluate the success of those strategies at conserving the targets.

For further information, please see:
http://dlnr.hawaii.gov/coralreefs/reports/