Papahānaumokuākea's Native Hawaiian Program Specialist Presenting at the CRIOBE Seminar in Mo'orea, French Polynesia

Keoni Kuoha, Native Hawaiian Program Specialist, presenting at the CRIOBE seminar entitled "Traditional Knowledge & Practices of Biodiversity in the Pacific," in Mo'orea, French Polynesia. Credit: Cody Pueo Pata

Keoni Kuoha, Native Hawaiian Program Specialist, was invited and sponsored by the French environmental research institute CRIOBE to participate in the seminar entitled "Traditional Knowledge & Practices of Biodiversity in the Pacific," in Mo'orea, French Polynesia, November 7 to 9, 2011.

Keoni presented current fieldwork and evolving conceptual frameworks that support the management of the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument (PMNM) through the integration of Native Hawaiian science perspectives and practices into the broader arenas of science and resource management. This and the dozen other presentations delivered at the seminar resonated among this international gathering of specialists, and important insights were shared by all. Additionally, opportunities for collaboration were established between PMNM and CRIOBE, the French Polynesian Department of the Environment, and the Ministry of the Environment.