Publications & Reports
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 By Paul Bernstein, Christopher Wada, and Kimberly Burnett 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 […]
Enduring Impacts of the November 2021 Red Hill Fuel Spill: Health, Social, Economic, and Trust Implications October 15, 2025 By Leah Bremer, Tara Sutton, Conrad Newfield, and Ruben Juarez 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 […]
Supporting thriving water futures through education and career pathways: perspectives from the Hawai‘i water sector October 8, 2025 By Leah Bremer, Sabrina Wong, Katy Hintzen, and Aurora Kagawa-Viviani 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 […]
Economic Benefits and Costs of Biological Control: Coffee Berry Borer, Erythrina Gall Wasp, and Fireweed in Hawai‘i September 29, 2025 By Christopher A. Wada, Conrad Newfield, and Kimberly M. Burnett This report evaluates the economic costs and benefits associated with biological control efforts targeting three invasive species in Hawai‘i: coffee berry borer (CBB, Hypothenemus hampei), erythrina gall wasp (EGW, Quadrastichus erythrinae), and fireweed (Senecio madagascariensis). Utilizing historical data, expert interviews, and cost-benefit analyses, the study […]
Return on investment for watershed protection on Kaua‘i March 20, 2025 By Conrad Newfield, Nathan DeMaagd, Christopher Wada, Kimberly Burnett, and Leah Bremer Native forests provide many societal benefits, including protecting freshwater resources that provide drinking water and sustain culturally, economically, and ecologically valuable springs, streams, and groundwater dependent ecosystems. The objectives of this report are to: (1) model future management scenarios for Kaua‘i’s native forests […]
Blogs & BRiefs
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 […]
Linking Land and Water Management to Culturally and Ecologically Important Groundwater Dependent Ecosystems March 4, 2021 Groundwater Dependent Ecosystems (GDEs) are ecosystems which rely on groundwater. In Kona, Hawaiʻi coastal GDEs include: fish ponds (loko iʻa), anchialine pools, and nearshore ecosystems. Communities and agencies are working to restore and protect these ecosystems for their linked cultural and ecological values, and seek information on the interacting impacts of wastewater management, urban development, […]
Project Description: Spatial Planning to Inform Expansion of Agroforestry for Cultural, Ecological & Economic Benefits October 12, 2020 Agroforestry systems, along with loʻi kalo and other systems, were abundant in traditional Hawaiʻi, and there is great interest in their restoration today. This project aims to improve understanding of current agroforestry systems and evaluate the costs and benefits of expanding restoration.
Economic benefits of hydrologic services from watershed protection and restoration August 17, 2020 Watershed protection and restoration provide a range of benefits including clean and ample water supplies, cultural connection to place, carbon sequestration, and a suite of other ecosystem services. Research by UHERO’s Environmental Policy and Planning Group demonstrates the economic benefits of native forest protection and restoration for groundwater recharge, pointing to the value of strategic […]
Statewide Economy and Electricity-Sector Models for Assessment of Hawai‘i Energy Policies July 13, 2012 This paper uses both a “top-down” and “bottom-up” economic model to asses the cost and greenhouse implications of various energy and environmental alternatives. The Hawai‘i Computable Generable Equilibrium Model (H-CGE) is a “top-down,” economy-wide model that captures the interaction between both producers and consumers, including full price effects between sectors. The Hawai‘i Electricity Model (HELM) […]
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 […]