This week’s announcement raises many important points. Hawaii has a disproportionately large number of extinct Hawaiian species. It has been well documented that when it comes to wildlife and conservation, plants are often overlooked by the public in favor of charismatic animals.Īccording to Botanical Garden Conservation International, there are more threatened tree species than mammals, birds, amphibians, and reptiles on Earth combined.
Because nearly 90% of Hawaii’s plants are endemic (found nowhere but here), biodiversity and conservation are tangible concepts that underscore the notion that extinction is forever.Īs a Hawaii-based environmental nonprofit organization dedicated to saving plants, we at the National Tropical Botanical Garden couldn’t help but notice that only one of the species to be delisted was a plant. Today, one-third of Hawaii’s more than 1,300 native plants are listed as threatened or endangered, with many species still unassessed. Those 23 species are just the tip of the iceberg. The disproportionately large number of extinct Hawaiian species, relative to the islands’ geographic size, is illustrative of why Hawaii has been given the unfortunate moniker “the extinction capital of the world.” Fish and Wildlife Service announced plans to delist 23 species from the endangered species list due to their presumed extinction, it highlighted the importance of preserving biodiversity and supporting conservation.Īmong the species slated for delisting, one-third of them (eight birds and one plant) are known only in Hawaii.