The ultimate vision: "A mosquito-free Hawai‘i"

I was part of a workshop that was held on the Big Island during the 2016 IUCN World Conservation Congress, in which over 40 experts in the fields of mosquito biology, health, wildlife management, and conservation met to discuss the problem of mosquito-vectored diseases in Hawai‘i. Mosquitoes, and the diseases they spread, are recent newcomers to the islands, having been first introduced in the mid-1800s. They spread disease-causing pathogens of humans and wildlife. During the meeting, we discussed traditional and novel approaches to tackle this problem. Below, I've pasted a quote from the final report that resulted from the workshop, and have provided a link to the full document.

"A workshop was convened on September 6-7, 2016, to seek strategic solutions to eliminate mosquito-borne diseases affecting humans and wildlife. Workshop participants ranged from experts in mosquitoes and mosquito-borne pathogens to local leaders, public health and wildlife specialists. The discussions focused on novel technologies to transform, suppress and ideally eliminate alien mosquito vectors from the Hawaiian Islands using an integrative systems thinking approach. Attendees concluded that broad support to engage the public, develop the science and put resources to work on locally appropriate solutions is critical to combat serious threats of mosquito-transmitted diseases to protect both Hawai‘i’s public health and unique biodiversity. This white paper is a summary of the discussions of the workshop."

Click here for the full report