Leah Bremer
Towards more equitable ecosystem investment programs
UHERO’s Leah Bremer is lead author on Global Water Forum piece focused on improving fairness and durability in ecosystem service incentive programs.
Read MoreReducing fire risk and restoring value to fallow agricultural lands
This blog was conceived via conversations among UHERO faculty and fellows from diverse backgrounds from environmental economics, ecosystem services, economic diversification, and fire and ecosystems. It is meant to stimulate conversation, research, and action towards pathways to address the critical problem of fire risk from unmanaged grasslands and opportunities to support more generative landscapes. We […]
Read MoreEmbedding local values in Payments for Ecosystem Services for transformative change
Abstract: The potential for Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES) programs to integrate nature’s diverse values into decision-making, and thereby support broader transformative change, is of increasing research interest. We analyze published reviews and case studies of PES from the IPBES Values Assessment to evaluate 1) how diverse values were (or were not) articulated through PES […]
Read MoreAfter the Maui wildfires: The road ahead.
By Steven Bond-Smith, Daniela Bond-Smith, Carl Bonham, Leah Bremer, Kim Burnett, Makena Coffman, Peter Fuleky, Byron Gangnes, Rachel Inafuku, Ruben Juarez, Sumner La Croix, Colin Moore, Dylan Moore, Nori Tarui, Justin Tyndall, and Chris Wada The immediate recovery efforts from the devastating Maui wildfires continue, and at UHERO we share our community’s anguish over the […]
Read MoreToward more equitable ecosystem investment programs—Adaptation and equity are central to the design and functioning of successful water funds
Abstract: Projects designed to incentivize ecosystem management for societal benefits are becoming increasingly popular and are often touted as win–win solutions for social and environmental challenges. Yet, there are important concerns about the equity and justice implications of these programs, and there is strong evidence that a lack of attention to justice can exacerbate or […]
Read MoreLinking climate, forests, and limu: Examining the influence of environmental change on groundwater dependent ecosystems in Kona
By Leah Bremer, Brytne Okuhata, Jade Delevaux, Angela Richards Doná, Celia Smith, Veronica Gibson, Henrietta Dulai, Aly El Kadi, Kosta Stamoulis, Kimberly Burnett, Christopher Wada Summary: Natural hazard resilience and increased groundwater pumping are likely to increase the habitat suitability of an invasive seaweed and decrease the abundance of a native and culturally important limu […]
Read MoreEffects of Multiple Drivers of Environmental Change on Native and Invasive Macroalgae in Nearshore Groundwater Dependent Ecosystems
New UHERO Environment and collaborator publication in Water Resources Research demonstrates the connections between forest management, groundwater pumping, natural hazard resilience and nearshore groundwater dependent ecosystems in Kona, Hawaiʻi. Abstract: Groundwater dependent ecosystems (GDE) are increasingly recognized as critical components of sustainable groundwater management, but are threatened by multiple drivers of environmental change. Despite this […]
Read MoreFrontiers in páramo water resources research: A multidisciplinary assessment
Abstract: Interdisciplinary knowledge is necessary to achieve sustainable management of natural resources. However, research is still often developed in an exclusively disciplinary manner, hampering the capacity to holistically address environmental issues. This study focuses on páramo, a group of high-elevation ecosystems situated around ∼3000 to ∼5000 m a.s.l. in the Andes from western Venezuela and […]
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 […]
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