Spear-throwers in traditional dress greeted rowers aboard a double-hulled canoe at a beachside ceremony Thursday to open a major world conservation meeting in Hawaii, where leaders urged respect for the Earth, its natural resources and indigenous cultures.

The sunrise ritual on Waikiki Beach kicked off the meeting of the International Union for Conservation of Nature, a 10-day conference that has drawn more than 9,000 world leaders, policy makers and environmentalists to Honolulu.

It is the largest group ever to attend the World Conservation Congress, which is held every four years and is being convened in the United States for the first time, said IUCN Director General Inger Andersen.

"We know that it is our generation that needs to make a change," she told a crowd of hundreds gathered on the beach.

More canoes were initially planned for the ceremony, including some that would carry heads of state from the Pacific Islands, but plans were scaled back at the last minute due to the approach of Hurricane Madeleine.

Still, the kickoff was steeped in symbolism.

"We just want to make people aware that our ancestors were great stewards of natural resources," one of the Hawaiian rowers, Milton Coleman Jr., told AFP.

"We need to think like a family. It is not about the individual."

At the opening ceremony, Hawaii Governor David Ige unveiled new statewide plans to ramp up renewable energy use and protect the oceans while respecting indigenous rights.

The plan is to "effectively manage 30 percent of Hawaii's nearshore waters by 2030," including precious coral reefs which form the basis for its $360 million annual tourist industry, said the governor.

He also vowed to double Hawaii's food production by 2020.

"We are a microcosm of our planet Earth," he said.

"Like the Hawaiian voyaging canoe, we are one canoe, one island, one land. We cannot afford to mess this up."

- 'Special urgency' -

President Barack Obama also visited Hawaii as the conference got underway, holding talks with Pacific leaders shortly after his arrival on Wednesday.

Obama called for unity in tackling climate change, as rising seas cast a gloomy future for island nations around the world.

"Nations like many of yours obviously feel a special urgency about this," Obama said.

"The biggest emitters, like my country and China, have a special responsibility to act to make sure that countries willing to do their part move past the dirty phase of development to move into a clean energy strategy."

Obama recalled that the United States, Canada and Mexico have all committed to getting 50 percent of their electricity from clean sources by 2025.

Later Thursday, Obama was scheduled to visit Midway Atoll on the far northwestern tip of the Hawaiian island chain.

The atoll is at the heart of the Papahanaumokuakea marine monument, which Obama expanded last week to make it the largest protected area on Earth.

- Endangered list -

The IUCN meeting brings together the leading minds in the conservation community to debate key issues, including illegal poaching, domestic ivory markets and sustainable agriculture.

The forum also provides an update on September 4 of the IUCN's Red List, which inventories global threatened and endangered species and assesses their risk of extinction.

US Interior Secretary Sally Jewell said the World Conservation Congress talks will forge a path forward on balancing progress with protection for wildlife and water.

She also called for action against the "scourge" of wildlife trafficking which threatens pangolins, elephants, tigers and more.

"The United States is part of the problem. We must be part of the solution."