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Yumi and Eiichiro Kuwana Legacy Club and Last Great Places Society members Yumi and Eiichiro Kuwana © Courtesy of Eiichiro Kuwana

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Meet Eiichiro Kuwana

Valuing the Virtues of Nature

Eiichiro Kuwana has traveled the world, and although he appreciates many places, he feels most at home among the natural wonders of Hawai‘i. Eiichiro, an experienced investment advisor, is a seasonal resident on Maui. He has served on The Nature Conservancy’s Hawai‘i board of trustees, and currently serves on TNC’s Hawai‘i emeritus Ihupani Council and chairs the Palmyra External Advisory Group.

Eiichiro has strong ties to TNC’s work at Palmyra Atoll. This spectacular wilderness about a thousand miles away from Hawai‘i is a TNC research laboratory and part of the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument. While it has no permanent human residents, an incredible array of marine life thrives in the atoll’s stunning coral reefs. The world’s largest land invertebrate, the coconut crab, scuttles along its white-sand beaches, and the second-largest population of red-footed boobies—along with scores of other bird species—nests in its lush trees.

Red-footed booby
Red-footed booby on Palmyra Atoll © Andrew Wright
Coral Reef Palmyra Atoll
Coral Reef Palmyra Atoll A relative absence of human development provides researchers a rare example of relatively pristine Pacific reef habitat by which to measure other, less-healthy reefs. © Tim Calver
Red-footed booby on Palmyra Atoll © Andrew Wright
Coral Reef Palmyra Atoll A relative absence of human development provides researchers a rare example of relatively pristine Pacific reef habitat by which to measure other, less-healthy reefs. © Tim Calver

Cutting-edge research on climate change, resilience and adaptation, with global implications, is happening here.

Eiichiro Kuwana

“The virtuous cycles of nature are alive on Palmyra,” says Eiichiro. “This is a globally significant and unique asset that truly differentiates TNC. Cutting-edge research on climate change, resilience and adaptation, with global implications, is happening here.” It was TNC’s commitment to science that first drew Eiichiro’s support, and the relationships he developed with researchers and practitioners inspired him to become a member of The Legacy Club. “I have been able to see people on the front lines, trying to solve problems that will affect all of us,” he says. “It’s so easy to designate TNC as a beneficiary of a 401(k). For my wife Yumi and me, it shows a  commitment to the fact that we want TNC and its work to outlive us so our children and future generations can experience the beauty of Hawai‘i and the world.”

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