Climate Adaptation
Managing retreat for sandy beach areas under sea level rise
Abstract: Sea level rise (SLR) is projected to impact approximately one billion people by 2100. For many coastal communities, retreat is the most viable long-term option due to exposure risk under SLR and increased coastal hazards. Our research analyzes the costs of retreating coastal development at an iconic beach in Hawaiʻi that is experiencing severe […]
Read MoreWhat’s a (Better) Beach Day Worth? Economic Valuation of Changes in Waikīkī Beach Characteristics
Abstract: Whether beach nourishment, an established beach management measure, is justified depends on its benefits and costs. We apply a discrete choice experiment at Waikīkī Beach on Oʻahu with mixed logit and latent class models to evaluate recreationists’ willingness to pay for changes in beach width and water clarity as well as the preferences for […]
Read MorePuʻulani: Biocultural restoration of agroforestry in Heʻeia, Oʻahu
By Leah Bremer, Zoe Hastings, Maile Wong, and Tamara Ticktin Puʻulani (heavenly ridge) sits above the loʻi kalo (taro patches) that Kākoʻo ʻŌiwi, a community-based organization in Heʻeia, Oʻahu, has been actively restoring since 2010. Just five years ago, in 2018, 100% of the trees at Puʻulani were non-native species. Since then, a partnership between […]
Read MoreTime for A Carbon Tax for Hawaii?
By James Mak and Erik Haites Hawaii’s constitution requires a Tax Review Commission (TRC) be appointed every five years to review the state’s tax/revenue system. Commissioners comprise of tax experts in the state and serve without compensation. In its final report to the Legislature, the 2020-2022 Tax Review Commission’s top recommendation is a carbon tax […]
Read MorePerspectives from communities threatened by sea-level rise
“Amid the growing threat of sea-level rise and coastal erosion of oceanfront communities around the world, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa researchers delved deeper into the response for coastal communities on Oʻahu. A recent survey of stakeholders discovered that what most respondents felt was currently important did not always match with what they felt should […]
Read MoreManaging for diverse coastal uses and values under sea level rise: perspectives from O’ahu, Hawaiʻi
Effective and equitable coastal decision-making under sea level rise requires managing for multiple coastal uses and values. A new publication led by UHERO’s Environmental Policy and Planning Group analyzes how decision-makers in Hawaiʻi perceive diverse uses and values of beaches and coastlines to be important and how they see recognition of these uses and values ideally shaping […]
Read MoreManaging for diverse coastal uses and values under sea level rise: perspectives from Oʻahu
By Leah Bremer, Makena Coffman, Alisha Summers, Lisa Kelley, and Billy Kinney “That whole experience of bonding, the family, the fresh air, that’s so critical. And we’ve lost a lot of that. As we lose the beaches, we lose that part of our culture, which is Hawaiʻi’s culture. Whether it’s a barbecue… or spend [ing] […]
Read MoreRestoring Ecosystem Services and Biodiversity through Cost-Effective and Resilient Agroforestry Systems
Since September 2018, our project team, composed of University of Hawai‘i faculty and students, Kāko‘o ‘Ōiwi staff, and other partners have worked together to: 1) design, implement, and monitor 10 agroforestry demonstration plots and buffer areas in He‘eia, O‘ahu (objective 1); 2) publish peer-review and practitioner-oriented material on agroforestry, functional traits, and ecosystem services (objective […]
Read MorePrivate Actions to Combat Climate Change Through Offsetting: The Story of The Coconut Traveler
By Kimberly Burnett, James Mak and Christopher Wada In late 2021, the United Nations (UN) held its 26th climate change conference (COP26) in Glasgow, Scotland. Among the many agreements that emerged from the conference was a coordinated plan for tourism climate action (Glasgow Declaration) to cut tourism’s global carbon emissions in half over the next […]
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