Contemporary Hawai'i Non-Timber Forest Plant Gathering Practices a Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Division of The
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CONTEMPORARY HAWAI‘I NON-TIMBER FOREST PLANT GATHERING PRACTICES A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE DIVISION OF THE UNIVERSITY OF HAWAI‘I AT MĀNOA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN BOTANY (ECOLOGY, EVOLUTION AND CONSERVATION BIOLOGY) May 2019 By Katie Leimomi Kamelamela Dissertation Committee: Tamara Ticktin, Chairperson David Duffy Mark Merlin Davianna McGregor Kamana Beamer Keywords: Hawaii, Non-Timber Forest Product, ethnoecology, ethnobotany, subsistence, conservation Dedication Mom and Dad. I learned my lesson. ii Acknowledgements When this paper is completed, defended, and submitted I will be fulfilling the dying wish of my mother. This paper was never about me, though I did get the experiences. I would have never completed this journey without the guidance of my mom from the other side. From this side my dad, just being who he is, has provided me much insight and strength to move forward. He reminds me to be kind constantly, and for this reminder I am grateful. To my advisor Dr. Tamara Ticktin. For believing in me when I didn’t know opportunities existed. For letting me in on this graduate school journey, for her support and encouragement to travel parts of the world I had only seen on TV or YouTube. Who stepped in as a second mother, I am forever grateful. To my committee members who individually enriched my understanding of this graduate school journey, encouraged me when I didn’t know I needed it, and who guided me through this process by example, I am forever grateful. To Sharon Ziegler-Chong, aka Mama Bear, who took a risk on believing that kids from Hawai‘i can and should be part of the decision-making process. To the University of Hawai‘i Hawaiian Internship Program for taking a chance on me over a three-year internship. To David Penn, my first mentor, who encouraged and nurtured my relationship with Kahoolawe and water. To Linda Koch, my first contractor, for teaching me how to have fun with awapuhi stems after a long day of hiking for water samples. These mentors brought me into science, nurtured me as who I was, and allowed me to grow in understanding that science is only as ethical as we are. For laying the foundation of this research I mahalo members of the Protect Kahoolawe Ohana, the Edith Kanaka‘ole Foundation, Hakipu‘u Learning Center, Malama Makua, Marae Ha‘a Koa, and University of Hawai‘i at Hilo Ka Haka ‘Ula o Ke‘elikolani College of Hawaiian Language, Ku-A-Kanaka, and the Piko ‘Ohana. Support for this research was provided by the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa Botany Department, the Ford Foundation (Pre-Doctoral Fellow), Kamehameha Schools, the State of Hawai‘i Department of Land and Natural Resources Division of Forestry and Wildlife, the United States Forest Service Forestry Inventory Assessment Program, the University of Hawai‘i at West Oahu Institute of Engaged Scholarship, Native Hawaiian Science and Engineering iii Mentorship Program, the Akaka Foundation for Tropical Forests, Cultural Surveys Hawaii LLC, Achievement Rewards for College Scientists (Botany) Isabella Abbott Award, UHM Botany Beatrice Krauss Fellowship, Global Environments Summer Academy Fellowship, University of Hawai‘i at Manoa Indigenous Politics, Native Hawaiian Federal Service Fellowship, Knoll Farms Better Selves Fellowship, Hawai‘i Conservation Alliance, the Open Science Network for Ethnobiology, and AmeriCorps. Field support was provided by Dr. Tamara Ticktin, Serafina Gajate, Nicole Ishihara, Michael-Edwards La‘akeaomaunalei Stone, Martin Keone Ennis, the Piko ‘Ohana, nā lālā o ka Protect Kahoolawe ‘Ohana, na lālā o ka Polynesian Voyaging Society, nā lālā o Halau o Kekuhi, nā lālā o Unukupukupu, na lālā o ka Ticktin Lab, colleagues at the US Forest Service Institute for Pacific Island Forestry, and ka po‘e o Hawai‘i. I am forever in debt to my beloved mentors my Father Jonah Kaleiwainuiakamoku Kamelamela Jr., Aunty Leimomi Khan, Sister Mahealani Hiapo, Brother Donovan Spencer Kaholokahiki Morgan, Aunty Kahiolani Papalimu, Aunty Francis Perry, Aunty Luana Busby- Neff, Bodhihara Searles, Aunty Manu Meyer, Aunty Kuumealoha Gomes, Kumu Lilikala Kame‘eleihiwa, Aunty Kalei Nuuhiwa, Aunty Davianna McGregor, Dr. Luciano Minerbi, Aunty Kim Birnie, Al Keali‘i Chock, Priscilla Wehi, Eleanor Sterling, Marla Emery, Aunty Ku Kahakalau, Uncle Kalani Kamelamela J.D., Aunty Pua Brown, Uncle Calvin Hoe, Aunty Charlene Hoe, Uncle Herbert Hoe, Aunty Tammy Smith, Uncle Glenn Kila, Kala‘i Aiona, Dr. Will McClatchy, Aunty Kahiolani Papalimu, Edward “Teddy” Wolzien and the community of Hawai‘i. To the many who have contributed through anonymous participation, this research will have gone nowhere without you. Those reading, know that this contribution continues to shape this work because you let the forest live through your thoughts and actions. There would have been no way forward in this research had I not looked back at my own family, my own parents, my own upbringing. Knowing who you are while doing your research is important, knowing why you are doing it develops, sometimes, in real-time. Thank you to many, especially the community, for your patience and understanding of this journey. iv Also, this research would not have been possible with the unmentionable MVPs the Botany Department Administrative Staff: Cory, Patty, Cindy, and all the workers. They handle all our paperwork which gets us through undergraduate, Master’s, and Ph.D. I truly could not have done this journey without the help of these individuals. And to those who have passed since this research started, I think of you all constantly. Mahalo. Mahalo Piha. v ABSTRACT Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFPs) play a critical role for communities in the United States and across the globe. NTFPs include a diversity of plants and plant parts - from fruit, flowers and leaves to bark, and other parts – as well as fungi. NTFPs provide materials for a multitude of uses, including food, medicine, housing, the arts, and ceremonies. In Hawai‘i, NTFPs were used extensively and continue to be important to subsistence practices and/or make major contributions to cash economies. The purpose of this research is to assess in Hawai‘i what contemporary forest plants are wild harvested, why, and by whom, as well as the social, ecological, and economic implications of wild plant harvest. Methods to identify key forest plant species and harvesters include interviews, the first analysis of the Department of Land and Natural Resources plant permit database, surveys of markets and cultural events, including an online structured survey of plant harvesters across the islands. Results illustrate the importance of connection to place and practice, that conservation methods can be utilized while harvesting, that introduced species can play key substitution roles in contemporary practices, and Hawaiians are key harvesters with many others who engage and contribute to Hawai‘i forests. The kuleana, enduring concern and blessing, of forest resiliency sits between harvesters and formal social structures of management. Native species are still being harvested for subsistence, educational and economic purposes. This NTFP research informs future policy decisions affecting the cross section of contemporary cultural, economic, and conservation values of Hawai‘i forests. vi Contents Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................................ iii ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................................... vi Table of Tables ............................................................................................................................. xii Table of Figures ............................................................................................................................ xv Introduction to Hawai‘i Non-Timber Forest Products: A Remembrance the Forest is Our Family3 What are Non-Timber Forest Products?...................................................................................... 3 Study Purpose .............................................................................................................................. 4 Study scope ................................................................................................................................. 5 Overview of Chapters ..................................................................................................................... 7 Overall Findings .......................................................................................................................... 8 Chapter 1: Data collection of Hawai‘i Non-Timber Forest Products ........................................... 11 Non-Timber Forest Products ..................................................................................................... 11 Historical context for NTFP harvesting .................................................................................... 12 Hawai‘i ecology ..................................................................................................................... 12 Polynesian introduced plants ................................................................................................... 4 Post 1778 introductions– people, plant, and economics .......................................................... 4 Commercialization of native species ......................................................................................