Rachelle Gould from Stanford University collaborated with Kamehameha Schools Land Assets Division to assess benefits and values associated with upland forests on the island of Hawai’i, in the South Kona region.
The project involved interviewing and surveying a variety of community members, with the goal of understanding more about how different people think about, value and use the forest.
The Hawaii project used an exploratory interview protocol similar to that used in British Columbia to inquire about the relationships between people and ecosystems. We also conducted an exploratory mapping exercise in which we asked participants to identify and assign tokens of value to important places (see maps below).
Analysis is in progress. Results will be posted as soon as they are available.