Publications & Reports
Supporting thriving water futures through education and career pathways: perspectives from Hawai‘i educators August 17, 2026 This report seeks to identify and map existing University of Hawai‘i (UH) System assets (strengths, capabilities, and expertise), as well as programmatic gaps and potential synergies within workforce development programs. Our aim is to enhance existing and shape future UH-based wai (freshwater) educational and career pathways. Findings draw on interviews with university faculty, alumni, and […]
A market analysis for a transfer of development rights program to facilitate sea level rise adaptation May 26, 2026 Sea level rise (SLR) poses an immense challenge to coastal communities worldwide. In Hawaiʻi, retreat from the shoreline is necessary to preserve beach ecosystems. Transfer of development rights (TDR) is one potential market-based tool to relocate development away from at-risk coastal areas. This study explores the applicability of TDR programs for SLR adaptation through a […]
Economic Impact of the City and County of Honolulu’s Department of Environmental Services on the State of Hawai‘i in Fiscal Year 2024 October 21, 2025 The Department of Environmental Services (ENV) provides essential wastewater and solid waste services for the City and County of Honolulu, and its operations and capital investments contribute significantly to the local economy. This analysis estimates the economic impact of ENV’s fiscal year 2024 expenditures using the Hawai‘i State Input-Output multipliers published by the Department of […]
Enduring Impacts of the November 2021 Red Hill Fuel Spill: Health, Social, Economic, and Trust Implications October 15, 2025 This report presents findings from a follow-up survey conducted in July 2023—about 20 months after the Red Hill water contamination—with 174 people who had participated in earlier CDC/ATSDR studies. The study examines how the disaster affected participants’ health, daily life, finances, and trust in government agencies. Results indicate ongoing challenges, including physical and mental health […]
Supporting thriving water futures through education and career pathways: perspectives from the Hawai‘i water sector October 8, 2025 In this report, we share insights from representatives from the freshwater sector on how the University of Hawai‘i can best support a thriving water future for Hawai‘i through strengthening educational and career pathways. This research is a multi-department collaboration including the University of Hawai‘i Economic Research Organization, the Institute for Sustainability and Resilience, University of […]
Insights & BRiefs
Native Forests as Critical Infrastructure: The Economic Case for Watershed Management in the Ala Wai May 26, 2026 Take Home Messages Recent flooding events from multiple back-to-back Kona Lows devastated areas across Hawaiʻi. While we cannot stop high rainfall events, land care and management, including watershed protection and stream and ditch management, play an important role in flood outcomes. Healthy native forests can reduce the impacts of flooding through slowing water flow and […]
Watershed Protection Provides Strong Return on Investment on Kaua‘i March 20, 2025 Read the full report. Kaua‘i’s native forests play a vital role in sustaining the island’s freshwater resources. These biodiverse ecosystems capture rainfall and fog, allowing water to seep into underground aquifers, which serve as the primary source of drinking water. However, the expansion of invasive plants and ungulates can change how these forests function. Without […]
Considerations for understanding water availability in West Maui January 21, 2025 This piece intends to highlight some of the inherent tradeoffs that make managing water in West Maui especially challenging. In particular, subtracting current/authorized use from “sustainable yield” as defined by the State Water Code and interpreted by CWRM may not be a reliable way to determine remaining water resources available for use. We hope summarizing […]
Social, economic, and health impacts of the Red Hill fuel spill: preliminary survey results January 18, 2024 By Leah Bremer, Tara Sutton, Ruben Juarez, Nicole Siegal, Nathan DeMaagd *University of Hawaiʻi Economic Research Organization (UHERO), Water Resources Research Center (WRRC), Department of Geography and Environment, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. BackgroundOn November 20, 2021, jet fuel from the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility directly contaminated the Red Hill Shaft well, impacting […]
Ecological Economics and the Circular Economy December 8, 2023 By Kimberly Burnett, James Roumasset, and Christopher Wada The Circular Economy In 1969, Belgian industrial designers Paul Jorion and Jacques Braijt proposed the circular concept of manufacturing products from recycled materials as opposed to the “linear” concept of producing them from mined or harvested raw materials and discarding the corresponding waste. The idea has gained […]
News & Media
UHERO’s Nori Tarui appointed to Collaborative Research Group on Environmental Economics and Policy April 9, 2026 UHERO’s Nori Tarui has been appointed as the Group Leader at the National Institute for Environmental Studies’ (NIES) Collaborative Research Group on Environmental Economics and Evaluation. The Group takes a multidisciplinary approach to analyzing environmental policy. Click here to learn more.
New $2 Million Gift Supports UHERO Research on Wildfire Risk and Land Management February 11, 2026 UHERO will play a central role in a new, $2 million research effort funded by Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez Bezos examining how land-use decisions can reduce wildfire risk across Hawai’i. Researchers at UHERO, ISR, and NREM will examine the costs and benefits of transitioning high-risk lands across the state toward safer and more productive […]
New UHERO Environment contribution in Ocean Nature Sustainability. Scaling biocultural initiatives can support nature, food, and culture from summit to sea. March 18, 2025 Biocultural nature-based solutions provide many social, cultural, and ecological benefits. Yet, there has been little research on related land-sea societal benefits, hindering our ability to finance and scale these solutions. To help fill this gap, we evaluate the land-sea benefits of scaling biocultural restoration initiatives in Hawaiʻi, including multi-strata agroforestry and high-elevation silvopasture combined with […]
Carbon Benefits of Agroforestry Transitions on Fallow Agricultural Lands – New UHERO Environment publication in Scientific Reports February 13, 2025 New UHERO Environment publication in Scientific Reports demonstrates important carbon benefits of transitioning fallow agricultural lands into varying agroforestry systems across Hawaiʻi. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-025-87891-y
New Study on Transfer of Development Rights and Sea Level Rise December 6, 2024 The City and County of Honolulu Resilience Office recently featured a report coauthored by UH ISR’s Alice McLean and UHERO’s Kimberly Burnett, Makena Coffman, Justin Tyndall, Kaila Ronquilio, and Christopher Wada. The study assessed the potential of using Transfer of Development Rights (TDR) for sea level rise adaptation on O‘ahu. Results from the analysis suggest that TDR alone is […]