Restoring Paradise: Rethinking and Rebuilding Nature in Hawaii

great book

Robert J. Cabin’s Restoring Paradise: Rethinking and Rebuilding Nature in Hawaii details various attempts to preserve and reconstruct various habitats in Hawaii that have been invaded and degraded by alien species. Cabin tells great stories of the challenges in the field of working toward this goal. He has a broad mind and is able to communicate with the very diverse group of people working to restore Hawaiian ecosystems.He is well aware of irony of people trying to restore a natural environment that humans have destroyed. Is the successful end product of restoration natural in any sense? Cabin comes to no firm conclusion. Restoration, he mulls, may simply be a more exacting form of gardening.Yet this sentence really encapsulates his ideas:“Conservation is a kaleidoscope of interacting species, ecosystems, people, and cultures that is fueled by a rich mixture of values, ascetics, science, art, philosophy, ego, and shifting alliances among government agencies, private organizations, special interest groups, local communities, and charismatic individuals.”

Robert Cabin provides on of the best examples of "science" communication I have come across. I use inverted commas around "science" because Cabin manages to balance the stories from his academic background with his experiences in the field with the practitioners and the local people. When it comes to conservation in Hawaii, there are many voices, which often lead to many conflicts. This book describes some of these eyeopening situations.This book isn't only full of interesting information, it is written extremely well. It's highly enjoyable to read! Despite the challenges inherent to the conservation movement in Hawaii, there is hope. Cabin introduces us to many of the hard-working people who dedicate their lives to restoring their islands.

Restoring Paradise tells many stories about projects on the Big Island, Maui and Kauai. It shows the hard work and ingenuity of the field project managers as well as the difficult decision-making required to deal with the complex social, political and scientific environments that set and reset project objectives and constraints. The book describes real places we can see on Google satellite view, visit, and volunteer. Along the way, it tells about the human and natural history of Hawaii. There is a bibliography.As an amateur restorer with ten years' experience, I found Mr. Cabin's professional thoughts and learning experiences generally valuable--we deal with similar issues here in Washington.