Maunalua Urban Forestry Stakeholder and Land Assessment for Tree Planting Initiatives

Abstract

Malama Maunalua intends to organize tree planting initiatives that effectively improve ecological and social conditions in Maunalua by collaborating with other organizations and entities that can act as partners and help the region reach urban forestry goals. Many organizations are considered stakeholders in Maunalua, but as partners, each have differing capacities and overall missions and objectives for urban greening. Properties and institutions have differing jurisdictions around the ability to plant. Additionally, certain urban areas have more conducive conditions for planting trees. It is important to conduct tree planting initiatives because deforestation due to development and historical ranching is associated with increased runoff, erosion, and sedimentation issues, decreased biodiversity, and temperature hot spots. Tree planting initiatives need exceptional teamwork and sharing of resources, as ineffective planning can cause redundancy or contradiction between stakeholders. For our project we plan to identify potential tree planting partners, their capacities, and resources for planting initiatives, and assist with forging long-term relationships between partners that results in positive impacts to the region. Increasing urbanization and deforestation in Maunalua has resulted in degraded social and ecological processes and Malama Maunalua is interested in urban greening to improve the health of the Maunalua Bay area, but past attempts of tree planting initiatives have fallen short due to differences in capabilities and capacities of partnering organizations. Therefore, we created a stakeholder matrix, an interactive map indicating areas of high need and potential, and included a document of the logistical aspects of a potential pilot project at Koko Head Elementary in an effort to improve the success of partnerships in reaching ecological and social goals in the region.