No Ka Lāhui: Using IUCN Data to Inform Recovery of Imperiled Species of Hawaiʻi, for Hawaiʻi

Abstract

Extinction rates have increased dramatically over the past century, a trend that is likely to continue with the increasing prevalence of threats such as climate change. Global databases are critical not only to highlight potential conservation solutions, but also to provide global and regional datasets for increased collaboration. Despite this potential, many global databases still lack comprehensive data regarding threats and conservation actions. The IUCN Red List is the most well-known of these global databases for species assessments. In this study IUCN Red List data for at-risk species in Hawai‘i were evaluated in regards to: (1) threats and conservation actions across taxonomic groups; (2) recovery actions to address climate change explicitly addressed in Red List data; and (3) incorporation of Indigenous and Local Knowledge (ILK). A total of 401 species from the Hawaiian Islands had threat and conservation action data on the IUCN Red List, and were therefore included in this study. Plants were the most numerous taxonomic group (n=361), followed by vertebrates (n=32) and invertebrates (n=8). Plants faced the highest number of threats, with habitat loss/modification and nonnative species invasion identified as the main threats. The number of species in each threat category differed significantly (X²12=1449.7, p<0.05). Although climate change was identified as a threat for some species, no specific conservation actions were identified to address this threat, in contrast to other identified threats. The disparity in data availability across taxonomic groups limited analyses for invertebrates, with threat data only available for eight arthropods and absent for all tree snail species, many of which are well-known locally to be on the brink of extinction. Hawaiian names were noted for some species, but other forms of ILK have yet to be incorporated in the Red List, despite published and written repositories of knowledge regarding Hawaiian species that are available in both English and Hawaiian languages. These results highlight the need for a structured elicitation process to be incorporated into the IUCN listing framework to increase inclusion of ILK knowledge and the identification of specific actions to address the threat posed by climate change to globally threatened species.