Environment
Investing in nature-based solutions: Cost profiles of collective-action watershed investment programs
Abstract: Worldwide, an increasing number of watershed management programs invest in nature-based solutions (NbS) to water security challenges. Yet, NbS for water security currently are deployed at well below their hypothesized cost-effective global potential, with uncertainty about costs identified as one key constraint on increased investment. Data on administrative and transaction costs of watershed investment […]
Read MoreAn environmental justice perspective on ecosystem services
UHERO Environment is part of an international collaboration focused on addressing environmental justice in ecosystem services research and practice. Their new publication in Ambio, “An environmental justice perspective on ecosystem services,” explores challenges and opportunities in incorporating multiple dimensions of justice into ecosystem services. Abstract: Mainstreaming of ecosystem service approaches has been proposed as one […]
Read MoreVOG – Using Volcanic Eruptions to Estimate the Impact of Pollutants on Learning Outcomes
By Rachel Inafuku. Joint research with Tim Halliday, Lester Lusher and Aureo de Paula. Introduction While an extensive number of studies have shown that pollution is detrimental to human health, a smaller, growing body of literature has found that pollution also negatively impacts cognitive performance. Research has shown that increases in pollutants lead to decreased […]
Read MoreNon-native fallows hold high potential for restoration through agroforestry in a Pacific Island ecosystem
Abstract: Agricultural land abandonment affects millions of hectares of cultivated lands globally. While ending cultivation can lead to spontaneous reforestation and ecological benefits, the resulting landscapes often have lower social and agricultural benefits than the native forests and agricultural systems they replace, especially when non-native species dominate successional pathways. This is the case in many […]
Read MoreVOG: Using Volcanic Eruptions to Estimate the Impact of Air Pollution on Student Learning Outcomes
This study pairs variation stemming from volcanic eruptions from Kilauea with the census of Hawai‘i’s public schools student test scores to estimate the impact of particulates and sulfur dioxide on student performance. We leverage spatial correlations in pollution in conjunction with proximity to Kilauea and wind direction to construct predictions of pollution exposure at each […]
Read MoreTourism water use during the COVID-19 shutdown: A natural experiment in Hawai‘i
By Nathan DeMaagd, Peter Fuleky, Kimberly Burnett, and Christopher Wada A recent study published in the Annals of Tourism Research used the shutdown of tourism in Hawai‘i during the COVID-19 pandemic to shed light on the relationship between tourism and water use on O‘ahu. The importance of water management is accentuated when there is near […]
Read MorePublication: Tourism water use during the COVID-19 shutdown: A natural experiment in Hawai‘i
Abstract: Many popular tourist destinations are on small islands whose resources are in limited supply, and the effects of climate change and burgeoning tourism tend to worsen the outlook. In this study, we identify the relationship between tourism and water use on the Hawaiian island of O‘ahu. Hawai‘i closed almost entirely to tourism during the […]
Read MoreSocial and Cultural values of Groundwater Dependent Ecosystems in Kona
By Veronica Gibson, Leah Bremer, Kimberly Burnett, Nicole Keakaonaaliʻi Lui, and Celia Smith “I think about the anchialine pools and the significance of the anchialine pools and how, if you have anchialine pools in your ahupuaʻa, especially in a place like North Kona, Kekaha Wai ʻOle,… you’re considered very wealthy” ~ anchialine pool resource manager […]
Read MoreBiocultural values of groundwater dependent ecosystems in Kona, Hawaiʻi
New UHERO Environmental Policy and Planning Group study, led by UHERO/WRRC/Botany graduate student Veronica Gibson, illuminates social and cultural values of groundwater dependent ecosystems in Kona, Hawaiʻi.
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