Watershed Recharge & Reduced Runoff
Healthy native ecosystems have multiple vegetative layers that stabilize soil, absorb rainwater gradually, recharge aquifers, and reduce runoff. When disrupted by invasive species or urbanization, they lose these essential functions, causing water to run off the surface instead of soaking in. This runoff carries sediment, pollutants, and disease into the ocean, contributing to coral reef smothering and poor nearshore water quality. Protecting native ecosystems on land directly supports healthier coral reefs and clearer ocean waters.
Carbon Sequestration & Nutrient Cycling
Ocean acidification, caused by excess CO₂ absorption, threatens marine life, especially coral reefs. Forests help combat this by sequestering carbon, storing CO₂ in soil and biomass.
In Hawaiʻi, both native and invaded forests sequester carbon, but invasive species disrupt nutrient cycles, making it harder for native plants to recover. Healthy native forests not only enhance carbon storage but also maintain balanced soils, essential for mitigating ocean acidification.
Shoreline Stabilization
Healthy coastal ecosystems play a vital role in stabilizing shorelines by acting as natural buffers against erosion and supporting seasonal sand movement in Hawaiʻi. As climate change accelerates, human activities such as shoreline hardening, coastal development, and poor coastal management degrade or eliminate these ecosystems. This leads to increased erosion, unstable shorelines, and weaker coastal resilience against rising sea levels and storm surges.
The original scientists
Kilo ʻĀina & Indigenous Ways of Knowing
Hawaiian cultural practices, such as kilo ʻāina (observing the land), have long recognized the deep interdependence of land and sea. Through careful observation, Hawaiians understood these mauka-makai relationships long before Western science sought to analyze them, embedding this knowledge into traditional land management systems like the ahupuaʻa system, which managed resources from nā kuahiwi (mountain tops) into the nearshore reefs.
Indigenous knowledge systems are just as valuable as conventional scientific methods, yet are often overlooked in mainstream institutions.
The hawaiian creation chant
The Kumulipo
The deep connection between land and sea is reflected in the Kumulipo, the Hawaiian creation chant, which describes the birth of the universe. It highlights connections between many mauka and makai organisms reinforcing their inherent relationships.
Hanau ka Ekaha noho i kai; Kiaʻi e ka Ekahakaha noho i uka. - Born was the Ekaha moss living in the sea; Guarded by the Ekahakaha fern living on land (0035-0036)
Hanau ka limu Kala noho i kai; Kia‘i ia e ka ‘Akala noho i uka. - Born was the Kala seaweed living in the sea; Guarded by the ‘Akala vine living on land (0083-0084)
Hanau ka He‘e noho i kai; Kia‘i ia e ka Walahe‘e noho i uka- Born is the He‘e [octopus] living in the sea; Guarded by the Walahe‘e [shrub] living on land. (0185-0.186)
Hawaiian proverbs
ʻŌlelo Noʻeau
The understanding of mauka-makai relationships is further demonstrated in ʻōlelo noeʻau, Hawaiian proverbs. The ʻōlelo noʻeau “He waʻa he moku, he moku he waʻa” – The island is a canoe, the canoe is an island, speaks to the idea that islands function like canoes—self-sustaining ecosystems where balance and resource management are key to survival.
Other ʻōlelo noʻeau describe mauka occurrences that signaled changes in the ocean.
Pua ka wiliwili, nanahu ka manō... (when the wiliwili tree blooms, the shark bites...) (2701)
Pua ka neneleau, momona ka wana- When the neneleau blooms, the sea urchin is fat. (2696)
Stories & Legends
Moʻolelo
Hawaiian moʻolelo (stories, legends) also convey relationships between land and sea. One moʻolelo tells the story of Naupaka, an indigenous shrub with delicate half-formed flowers. While there are many variations of the tale, many of them speak of forbidden lovers torn apart—one destined to remain in the uplands, the other by the sea. As a result, naupaka blooms with only half a flower, a reflection of their eternal separation.
This moʻolelo explains the existence of naupaka kahakai (coastal naupaka, Scaevola gaudichaudiana) and naupaka kuahiwi (mountain naupaka, Scaevola gaudichaudii), symbolizing both the distance between the lovers and the unbreakable bond that still connects them—one flourishing in the mountains, the other by the ocean.