The Nature Conservancy - Watershed Partnerships

Save Our Forests

Support our efforts to protect Hawaii's remaining native forests that generate life-giving water for people, as well as the natural communities of plants and animals.

Forest-choking Weed

Miconia fieldworker in a patch of miconia, an invasive weed A field worker spot-applies herbicide on a patch of the fast-growing invasive weed Miconia calvescens in Hana, Maui.

Partnering to Save Water

Hawai'i Association of Watershed Partnerships logo
Visit the Hawai`i Association of Watershed Partnerships website to learn more about watershed partnerships in Hawai`i and how they preserve our most vital resource.

Forest Threats

Feral pig, sus scrofa Learn more about the Forest Recovery Project, the Conservancy's proactive initiative to restore the health of our native forests by addressing the threat of alien plants and animals, like the wild non-native pig pictured here.

Hahai nō ka ua i ka ulu lā'au.
Rains always follow the forest.

– 'Ōlelo noe'au
Ancient Hawaiian proverb

Forested lands account for 1.5 million acres, or more than one-third of our state. These forests are our islands’ primary watersheds, supplying us with hundreds of billions of gallons of fresh water each year.

Watershed partnerships are the most effective tool for the long-term protection of Hawaii's verdant forested watersheds. These voluntary, cooperative partnerships enable public and private landowners and local communities to share their expertise and resources, and jointly manage forested lands across ownership boundaries in an efficient and cost-effective manner.and a practical need, to protect our future water supply. Fresh water is not an unlimited resource, and its ready availability, quality, and sustainability are linked to the health of our forested watersheds. When we fail to protect our forests and allow our watersheds to degrade, we put our future prosperity and quality of life at risk.

As a society we have a responsibility,

In 1991, the Conservancy and the State of Hawai`i pioneered the state's first watershed partnership in East Maui, joining forces with other public and private landowners to protect an entire 100,000-acre forest ecosystem that is the island's primary source of water. The success of the East Maui Watershed Partnership has spurred the formation of similar partnerships across the state.

In 2003, the Conservancy helped to establish the Hawai`i Association of Watershed Partnerships to build public and private support for watershed partnerships, and to develop the capacity of these partnerships to manage and protect our forested watersheds. Today, the HAWP is working to protect 891,000 acres of critical forest and conservation lands statewide.

The Conservancy is a member or associate member of eight out of the nine watershed partnerships existing in the islands today:

Hawai`i: Kohala Watershed Partnership, `Ōla `a-Kīlauea Partnership

Maui: East Maui Watershed Partnership, Leeward Haleakalā Watershed Restoration Partnership, West Maui Mountains Watershed Partnership

Lāna‘i: Lāna`i Forest and Watershed Partnership

Moloka`i: East Moloka`i Watershed Partnership

O`ahu: Ko`olau Mountains Watershed Partnership

Kaua`i: Kaua`i Watershed Alliance

Nature picture credits (top to bottom, left to right): © Peter Menzel (forested watershed); © John H. Carothers ('i'iwi in stenogyne); Grady Timmons/TNC (Miconia field worker, Hana, Maui).